The Work-Life Balance Disruption
by moulesfrites
Summary: In an alternate universe where Sheldon teaches physics at Caltech, Amy takes his class as a part of her final year as a graduate student. Sparks fly between the professor and the student. But who is teaching who? An illicit romance. Shamy AU. Complete.
1. Prologue

**In an alternate universe where Sheldon teaches physics at Caltech, Amy takes his class as a part of her final year as a graduate student. Sparks fly between the professor and the student. But who is teaching who? An illicit romance. Shamy AU. **

**A/N I was inspired by S8E2 The Junior Professor Solution. This story deals with age differences, power imbalances, lessons in physics and lessons in love. Please note that I have absolutely no knowledge of physics (hurray for Wikipedia) and little knowledge of the American education system. **

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**PROLOGUE**

Amy tried her hardest to smooth out her skirt. She really should have worn a different one. She would not be making the best impression dressed like this.

The flight from Boston to Pasadena had been horrendous, with a crazy amount of turbulence, crying babies and smelly people (_why didn't people take a shower before travelling in a confined space?). _

Amy was nervous as hell. As part of her doctorate, she would be doing her final year at a different university. Amy was sad at first when she heard it; trading in Harvard for Caltech seemed like a foolish choice. It would be like trading in your mansion with a built-in swimming pool for an apartment with a shared bathroom.

After her guidance counsellor told the reasons for the final year-switch, Amy couldn't have been more excited. The level of education at Caltech was sky-high. They provided their students with research facilities beyond her measure. Where Harvard was more a theoretical school, Caltech employed a more tactical approach. It would be perfect for Amy's addiction study.

All that was left for her to do was her addiction experiment, her dissertation and a minor. The minor was merely a formality on which she didn't want to spend too much time. Therefore she had chosen Theoretical Physics. After biology, physics had been her best subject in school. It should be a breeze.

After settling in in her modest studio, Amy had taken the bus to campus. She had an appointment with Ms Davis of the exchange programme.

"Welcome to Caltech, Miss Fowler," Ms Davis greeted her. "I hope you have settled in well?"

"Yes, I have, thank you," Amy replied demurely.

"Good," Ms Davis spoke in a most calming voice. Since she also ran the HR department, Amy wasn't surprised. "I have your schedule right here, Ms Fowler. I understand you'll be doing a physics minor next to your experiments?"

Ms Davis sounded apprehensive. "Yes, I am," Amy answered, "do you not recommend it? Will the minor be too much in combination with my experiments?"

"Oh, no, no," Ms Davis quickly rebutted, "it's just that we have a… _new_… professor teaching Theoretical Physics and his teaching skills are still not… yet optimal. That's all."

Ms Davis smiled at her, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Amy replied, willing Ms Davis to see that _she_ could handle an inexperienced professor as well as the next person: just because she was from another school didn't mean she wouldn't be able to handle any curve ball Caltech threw at her.

"I've had my share of inexperienced teachers," Amy continued, "as long as their knowledge is up to par, it won't be a problem."

Ms Davis gave a dry laugh. "Knowledge on the subject won't be the problem for Doctor Cooper."

* * *

After meeting her lab supervisor and a fellow graduate candidate, Amy felt more secure. She would be able to find her place here. She would share her lab with a microbiologist named Bernadette. And, while not on the same field of biology, they had some similar interests. She was enthusiastic when she greeted Amy, her bubbly personality bringing a smile to Amy's face.

Amy bid her farewell and went off to class for her minor. It was fairly easy to locate thankfully.

When she arrived in the small class room almost all seats were taken, except for the seats in the front. There was only room for around twenty students. Amy looked around nervously. It was like high school all over again. Sitting in the front of the class, without any friends. Amy chose a seat on the row closed to the door. That way, she felt like she had a chance to flee the scene.

A man with a Beatles-haircut and a dickie sat on the row next to her and gave her a small smile. Amy gave him a half-smile in return when the door to the classroom swung open suddenly.

"Good afternoon, class," the man who entered spoke with an air of arrogance and indifference.

He was tall. The suit he wore gave him a certain air of authority. Amy swallowed away the sudden dryness in her throat. He walked over to the desk at the front of the classroom, and turned around. His eyes swept over every student in the room, as if he was cataloguing them. When he reached her, his eyes seemed to halt for a second.

Amy felt a swoop in her stomach. His blue eyes seemed to pierce her.

She exhaled slowly when his attention was diverted. There was something weirdly sexy about him. He appeared pretty young for a professor. If Amy had to guess, he would be around thirty. _Really young for a professor. _He exuded confidence, with the way he held himself in front of everyone. He wasn't even much older than some of the students.

"Before we start with today's lecture, I'll be taking attendance," the man continued, in a bored voice. He pulled out a list of names from the folder in front of him.

"Adams, Will," he started, looking up and nodding to the young man. Amy couldn't help but wonder what her name would sound like on his lips.

After two other names, he had reached her already. "Fowler, Amy," he spoke clearly, his eyes already on her. To her horror, Amy felt she was blushing under his gaze. "P-present," she muttered.

The professor looked at the piece of paper, again. "It appears Miss Fowler has joined us from Harvard University, majoring in _biology,_" he said the last word as if it was something disgusting, and Amy felt insulted, "I do hope you'll be able to keep up with the curriculum, Miss Fowler. We work differently here at Caltech. I expect you to be on your best behaviour."

Before she had time to respond, he continued with his list of names.

Amy felt uneasy. The professor made her feel inferior. She was on the top of her class at Harvard, she shouldn't have to feel like this. Yet, there was something about him that unnerved her.

"Wolowitz, Howard," the professor called out. The man with the Beatles-haircut was engrossed in his phone, not listening at all to the roll call in front of him. The professor looked irritated, and cleared his throat loudly.

The young man looked up and pocketed his phone. "Sorry, Sheldon," he said, smiling at him. "Raj wanted to know if he should get tickets for tonight's showing at eight or at nine. I told him nine would probably work best, with dinner and all."

The professor cleared his throat again. He looked somewhat embarrassed. "Nine o'clock is fine," he muttered, "please refrain from addressing me by my given name in class though, Mister Wolowitz."

Beatle-haircut raised his hands mockingly. "My apologies, _doctor_ _Cooper_."

Amy regarded the scene in front of her. Apparently they knew each other outside of the classroom. Was the professor teaching one of his friends? That was weird, right? Amy had to assume the teachers at this university didn't go to the movies with all their students.

An image suddenly flashed in her mind. _She was sitting in a darkened theatre with the professor – Doctor Cooper, apparently – next to her. His hand grasped hers, she tried to watch the movie in front of her, but he was staring at her. Looking back up at him, his eyes bore into hers again. "Am I distracting you, Miss Fowler?" he asked, moving steadily towards her… _

"We'll start today by going over the bases of analytical mechanics," the professor droned on, pulling Amy out of her fantasy.

She berated herself. Never before had her mind wandered like this in class. She always paid attention, like a good student. But there was something about Doctor Cooper that intrigued her. His blue eyes, his impressive tall stature, the way he looked down at the students, arrogant, confident…

Amy gulped. She was steadily developing a crush on her professor. She was doomed.

_To be continued_


	2. Misconceptions

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 1**

**Misconceptions**

That evening Amy ate a TV-dinner while she went through her study materials. The physics class turned out harder than she had expected. If it was because of the subject matter, or because she was infatuated by her teacher, she couldn't be sure.

She pulled the syllabus of the Theoretical Physics towards her. Her fingers moved over the author's name. _Sheldon L. Cooper, PhD. _Grabbing her laptop, she did a quick Google search. She was quickly redirected to the university website. His Caltech information was very forthcoming; he was 31 years old, had graduated high school at fourteen (fourteen!) and had not one, but two doctorates.

Amy stared at the black and white profile picture. Her stomach fluttered.

_Ohhh, this was not okay._ It would be most unfortunate if she were to develop a crush on a _teacher_. Sure, he was only 8 years her senior. But still. Eight years was a pretty big difference when at her age. She was only 23 after all, and he was her superior in every way.

The stared at his picture in wonder. Two doctorates. He must be some sort of genius.

The university website listed all of his published works, an impressive list. Amy perused them; while she had a general knowledge of physics, she had a hard time understanding even the titles of his works.

Amy clicked the link on one of his dissertations, and started to read.

Without realising it, Amy spent the entire evening reading his works. It was fascinating – she understood about half of it though. Especially when she considered the publish date and calculated back to when he must have written some of them. He had been younger than she was now. She was thoroughly impressed.

At one o'clock she decided it was time for bed. She was exhausted. The first day at Caltech had worn her out completely. As she lay in bed, she thought back to the way doctor Cooper had looked at her in class.

She had feverish dreams all night.

* * *

Amy worked with her lab partner Bernadette the following days. She was a couple of years older than her, and had spent quite some time already at Caltech. She was nice and upbeat. Amy really hoped she would become friends with her, she had spent her past evenings alone on the couch reading Doctor Cooper's research. She longed for a night out.

Being social had never been her strong suit. Mustering up her courage, Amy tried.

"Hey, Bernadette," she started, while they stood side by side washing beakers, "do you have plans tonight? There is a lecture at the planetarium tonight on cosmology and the possibility of extra-terrestrial life. Would you like to come with me?"

Bernadette frowned. "Oh, I don't know, Amy," she said. Amy's face fell. She had misunderstood their possible friendship – it wouldn't be the first time, and what would follow now were immensely awkward months of working together.

"Not that I don't want to hang out with you!" Bernadette interjected quickly, "it's just… that lecture is given by Rajesh Koothrappali. He's a friend of my ex's, and I really don't want to run into him."

Amy hoped she didn't appear too relieved. It wasn't because of her; it was simply because of some ex-boyfriend.

"Oh, we could do something else then? I've been here almost a week now, and I haven't done anything social yet."

Bernadette smiled at her. "We can go out to dinner," she said, "I know just the place. I used to work there, I get a great discount on the cocktails."

* * *

Amy and Bernadette walked into the Cheesecake Factory. It was fairly busy, with families and couples and groups of people eating together.

Bernadette suddenly paused, making Amy almost run smack into her. "Well," Bernadette muttered, "there goes my plan to avoid the dreaded ex."

Amy followed her gaze and her stomach bottomed out.

At the table Bernadette was looking at, sat Doctor Cooper.

He was dressed differently than last Monday, when he wore a suit. He wore a pair of slacks and a colourful t-shirt with a lightning bolt on it. He sat with three other men. One of them was Howard Wolowitz, the guy with the Beatles-haircut. A short bespectacled man sat opposite doctor Cooper. The other was a man who appeared to be of Indian descent. Rajesh Koothrappali, Amy realised. _The lecture is given by Rajesh Koothrappali, he's a friend of my ex's… _

Amy couldn't believe her shitty luck.

She was finally out with someone who could possibly become her first friend here in California. And that girl turned out to be the ex-girlfriend of the man who she herself was slowly becoming obsessed with.

Well, Amy thought, it was probably for the best. There was no way she would _ever_ have a real conversation with Doctor Cooper in the foreseen future anyway. It was just wishful thinking and just a crush.

_Just a crush. _

"We have to stop staring," Bernadette muttered, and quickly pulled Amy with her to the opposite end of the establishment.

Bernadette took a seat with her back towards the men, making Amy face them. If Doctor Cooper were to look up, he'd surely notice her. Beatles-haircut sat next to him. Amy figured that since he knew her as well, this could turn out horribly.

"What are the chances of running into your ex here, huh," Amy said conversationally.

"I should have thought this through," Bernadette said, chagrined. "We actually met through my colleague, she still works here. Her boyfriend Leonard is friends with him. They set us up. I should have known they could be having dinner here."

Amy nodded. "It's alright, they can't see you right now." Amy let her eyes drift over to the table swiftly. The men hadn't noticed Bernadette's presence. They appeared to be in deep conversation with each other.

Amy cleared her throat. "I, uhm, actually know your ex," she said. It was probably best to get this over with quickly.

Bernadette regarded her sceptically. "But you just got here, how could you know him?"

"From class," Amy said, she was hoping their budding friendship wasn't ruined.

"Oh," Bernadette said, she seemed relieved, grabbing a menu to look through the list of specials. "Theoretical Physics, right?"

"Yeah," Amy said softly. Opening her own menu as well. The air was awkward between them now.

"Well," said Bernadette, "I hope he doesn't bother you too much. He can be quite pushy, especially when he flirts with you. He's always thought of himself to be quite the ladies' man. Just ignore him, he'll leave you alone in no time when he knows he doesn't stand a chance."

Amy furrowed her brow. Why would Bernadette think Doctor Cooper would flirt with her? Did he have a reputation of flirting with under-grads? Amy had a hard time picturing him flirting with anyone, let alone one of his students. She had only seen him for those two and a half hours of class, but Doctor Cooper a _ladies' man_? Besides, Amy was not the type of girl men flirted with, period. In her 23 years, she could count the times she kissed a man on one hand…

"I'm probably not his type," Amy laughed, "besides, he's your ex, so that makes him off limits for me. Don't worry."

Bernadette smiled. "Thank you, Amy."

They spent the rest of the evening discussing work. Amy tried not to look up to the table with Doctor Cooper too many times. Now she had found out he was Bernadette's ex-boyfriend, he was even more off limits then before.

Once or twice she felt someone's eyes on her, she couldn't be sure, but every time she looked up, Doctor Cooper was looking at his plate. Amy tried not to read into it too much.

* * *

The following Monday, Amy had Theoretical Physics again. While she knew she really shouldn't be doing so, Amy couldn't help but pay more attention to her wardrobe that day. She had tried not to think about Doctor Cooper too much, since he was Bernadette's ex. Amy was really happy to have found a girl to hang out with, she wasn't going to ruin that with inappropriate feelings for a man – her professor no less.

She took the same seat in class as the last time. She was a creature of habit after all and this way, she was closer to the professor. She tried not to feel too guilty about wanting to be close to him. Sure, it wasn't really kosher, but she wasn't really doing anything wrong, was she?

Beatles-haircut came in a smiled at her. "Hey," he greeted, taking the seat on the desk next to her. "I spent a good part of last week berating myself for not introducing myself to you properly," he gave her a sly smile and extended his hand, "Howard Wolowitz."

"Amy Farrah Fowler," Amy responded, grasping his hand firmly. He held onto her too long for it to be a polite handshake. Amy looked at him quizzically. _Maybe Bernadette should have warned her about him instead of Doctor Cooper… _

"Say, could it be that I saw you at the Cheesecake Factory last week with one Bernadette Rostenkowski?" He still held her hand. It was making her uncomfortable.

So, they had been spotted. Amy felt disappointed that Doctor Cooper hadn't acknowledged her presence.

Amy tried to extract her hand, but he wouldn't let her. "Could be, yeah," she muttered.

"Did she mention me at all?" he asked, increasing his grip on her hand. Amy furrowed her brow. Why would Bernadette mention him? She opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the loud voice of Doctor Cooper.

"Mister Wolowitz, I would like to ask you to harass my students in your own time," the professor spoke angrily, raising his eyebrows at Howard. He paused and cut his eyes to her. Amy blushed immediately. She felt guilty. Like she was caught doing something she wasn't allowed to do.

"I can provide you with the contact information of Ms Davis from Human Resources, should you want to report him, Miss Fowler," the professor said to her. Amy laughed awkwardly. Was he joking? She looked over to Howard next to her, he was glaring at Doctor Cooper.

"It's fine," she muttered, avoiding his gaze.

Doctor Cooper stared at her. "Very well," he said, "let's get started with today's material."

The professor spoke of calculus of variations, and was scribbling all kinds of formula's on the whiteboard in front of him. Amy had trouble keeping up with his rapid explanations. This class was much harder than she had anticipated.

It was five minutes till the end of the class, when Doctor Cooper turned to them.

"As I expect you've read in the course's syllabus, you will be expected to hand in a paper of 1,500 words on the Euler-Lagrange equation this week. The paper will be the baseline measurement for your future works in this class," he spoke robotically, "if you perform inadequately, we will have to see if you are fit for this class at all."

Amy gulped. The Euler-Lagrange equation was notorious for being really complicated and hard to understand. The pressure she felt for performing well was mounting rapidly.

"The deadline for the paper is this Friday at 8 o'clock in the evening. You will all submit the paper through the University's website upload programme, which checks for plagiarism in the progress. Any papers missing the deadline, will receive an automatic fail."

Amy berated herself. She had started to read the syllabus, but had distracted herself with reading up on her professor instead. Now, she only had a couple of days to write a paper on a very complicated topic.

"Any questions?" Doctor Cooper asked. When no one responded, he gave the class a firm nod. "Very well. Dismissed," he said.

Amy sighed deeply. She gathered her things and stood up to leave the class room.

"Miss Fowler," Doctor Cooper spoke behind her, making her stomach do a delightful swoop, "a word, please."

Amy felt her blood run hot. She swallowed thickly and turned to face her professor.

_To be continued_

**A/N: Your intial responses to my story made me smile. Let me know what you think. **


	3. Interpretations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 2**

**Interpretations**

Doctor Cooper appeared to wait until the other students were gone from the classroom. He busied himself with cleaning his whiteboard, while Amy stood next to her desk waiting awkwardly.

Howard was the last one remaining in the classroom. "Amy," he said, grabbing her arm, "you never answered my question. Did Bernadette—"

"Don't you have somewhere else to be, Howard?" Doctor Cooper interrupted him again. "I'd like a word with Miss Fowler in private, so please leave."

Howard gaped at him. "Unbelievable," he hissed. He made quite a show of leaving the classroom, slamming the door behind him as he went.

Doctor Cooper watched him leave. "Don't mind him, Miss Fowler," he said, "it's for his own good." Amy wondered what he could mean by that. Was Howard not allowed to ask about Doctor Cooper's ex-girlfriend? It was a bit strange, Amy presumed, but so far stranger things seemed to happen around here.

Doctor Cooper sat down at his desk, and gestured to the seat in front of him. "Please take a seat."

Amy did as she was told. She was seated directly in front of him. With the both of them sitting down, she was able to look him into the eyes more easily. She wished she couldn't. His piercing gaze combined with the way he kept addressing her as 'Miss Fowler' left her a nervous wreck. She had never liked her last name that much, but when _he_ said it, it sounded almost beautiful.

Doctor Cooper folded his hands under his chin and looked at her.

"Have you started your paper on the Euler-Lagrange equation yet, Miss Fowler?" he asked. Every time he spoke her name, her stomach constricted in itself.

"Uhm," Amy had to do a double-take. She had assumed he wanted to speak to her about Howard and his attention towards her in the classroom. "No, I haven't."

He looked surprised, raising his eyebrows at her. "I would assume you had, considering your thorough research on the subject matter," he stated.

Amy looked at him blankly. "My research, sir?"

"Your research, yes," he replied, as if it was obvious. Amy was as confused as ever. "Although, you deviated greatly when you read up on wormholes and the inaccuracy of notable science fiction movies."

Amy felt her face heat up. He was referring to one of his research papers she read last week. She was silent as she looked at him, unsure what she could say to make this situation any less embarrassing.

"It appears you are not aware that I receive notifications when a student consults my published work in the online catalogue," he stated, regarding her intently. "Did you think it was just available for everyone for free? Only students of this university have free access, provided they log in. Apparently, you Harvard students have a different view of the importance proper appreciation of scientific work."

Amy wished the ground would swallow her whole. She was probably beet red by now.

What would he think of her now? She had read almost everything he had published. There was really no excuse she could give him that would make her look like a normal student, instead of a stalker. Never had she even considered that the university website would notify him. Was that even allowed? Did she not have any privacy anymore?

"Were you looking for anything specific?" Doctor Cooper continued. He kept looking at her. There was no judgement in his eyes however, just a mild curiosity.

"N-no," Amy stuttered, and lowered her eyes. She fidgeted with the hem of her skirt as she came up with a lame excuse as to why she would read all of his published research.

"It's just that, you said something to me in the first class about keeping up with the curriculum since my major is biology. I thought it would be wise to look through the works you've published," she murmured. She glanced up at him hesitantly.

Doctor Cooper stared at her. He narrowed his eyes.

"Very well," he said finally. "I must admit, I admire your tenacious attitude, Miss Fowler. Especially for a Harvard student." He looked at her like he had just given her a compliment, but that jab about her university was unnecessary.

"Thank you," she said anyway. The corners of his lips turned slightly. Amy blushed even more in response, and averted her gaze once more. _God, this was awkward. _

"Was there anything else, sir?" she asked.

"No," he replied, "I was just wondering if you were consulting my work for the upcoming paper. And if you needed any help familiarising yourself with the scientific principles of physics. You are a biologist after all."

Another jab. Amy was starting to like him less and less. Perhaps her initial crush was merely based on his charismatic personality and his authoritative looks. The more time she spend with him, the more insults he hurled her way.

She had a hard time picturing him being kind to Bernadette at all. She wondered if that was the reason they broke it off.

"I think I'll manage," she replied, trying to sound confident. She stood up to leave.

"Oh, and Miss Fowler," Doctor Cooper called after her, "I was serious about giving you Ms Davis' contact information in regards to Mister Wolowitz."

Amy turned at the door to look at him. "Excuse me?"

Doctor Cooper appeared flushed. He busied himself with some papers on his desk. "My apologies," he said, "I was under the impression he was… bothering you. Mister Wolowitz and I are acquaintances outside of work. It wouldn't have been the first time I was witness to his unwanted and inappropriate behaviour."

Amy didn't really know how to respond to this. "I already have Ms Davis' contact information," she said instead.

Doctor Cooper nodded. "Good, good," he muttered. "Did Miss Rostenkowski give that to you?"

Amy froze at the mention of Bernadette. She thought it would be really inappropriate to discuss his ex-girlfriend with him. The way he casually mentioned her name irked her. Did he _want_ to talk about her? Had he seen them together as well, that night at the Cheesecake Factory? He must have. Why else would he mention Bernadette to her?

Amy cleared her throat uncomfortably. "No, Ms Davis is in charge of my exchange programme."

Doctor Cooper just nodded in response and stood up to usher her out. "Please, see yourself out. I'm looking forward to read your paper, Miss Fowler."

Amy blushed again, gave him a tentative nod, and left quickly.

* * *

Amy didn't dare to tell Bernadette about what happened between her and Doctor Cooper behind closed doors. Their friendship was still new. If she found out about Amy's crush, surely Bernadette would end their friendship before it even began.

She couldn't help but think about the condescending manner Doctor Cooper had spoken to her. She didn't know Bernadette all that well now, but she couldn't imagine Bernadette tolerating that kind of behaviour. She was feisty. Or maybe Doctor Cooper was different when not at work. He mentioned being friends with Howard Wolowitz after all; he seemed rather slimy.

Bernadette asked her out again on Thursday, and Amy agreed reluctantly. She still hadn't finished her paper on the Euler-Lagrange equation. Reaching 1,500 words was rather difficult when the entire paper consisted of formulas and equations.

"What can I get you?" the blonde girl behind the bar of the Cheesecake Factory asked her. Bernadette was running late, she had texted Amy.

"A red wine, please," Amy asked, handing her ID to the girl. She looked at it twice. "Are you the girl Bernadette told me about?"

Amy blushed. "I guess?" she asked, nervous already. The girl behind the bar was incredibly attractive. If Amy were into women – which she sometimes wondered about – this girl would be her type.

"I'm Penny," the blonde said, handing back her ID. "Bernadette told me she would be coming here tonight with her colleague. How nice to meet you! I understand you're new at Caltech?"

The girl – Penny – spoke rapidly and bubbly. Amy already liked her. A pretty girl who was nice to her: that never happened, unless said pretty girl needed her homework copied.

"Yes, this is my second week. I'm not really Bernadette's colleague though, I'm still a graduate student," Amy said, accepting the glass of wine which was almost filled to the brim. She took a sip.

"Do you like it here?" Penny asked, firing questions at her while cleaning a glass. "You study biology right, if you work with Bernadette? My boyfriend works at Caltech too, in physics though, maybe you've seen him around. Leonard Hofstadter?"

Amy choked on her wine. She'd seen him around alright. Leonard Hofstadter was the co-author on multiple of Doctor Cooper's papers. _Shit. _What kind of soap opera was this? She was meeting Doctor Cooper's ex-girlfriend, while talking to his colleague's girlfriend.

If she'd known what kind of social circle she would enter, she would have never left Boston.

Penny regarded her quizzically. "I haven't met him," Amy said, "but I'm doing a minor in Theoretical Physics, so maybe I'll run into him around that part of campus."

Penny guffawed. "Theoretical Physics!" she laughed out loud, "oh, you poor thing!"

It was Amy's turn to look confused. "Why?" she hastily took another sip of wine, hoping that Bernadette would get there soon.

"Well, let's just say, I pity everyone who has to sit in a class taught by Sheldon, with Howard as a fellow student," Penny replied, drying the tears from her eyes.

Amy's stomach constricted with nervousness. "You know them then?"

"Yeah, of course," Penny said, "I'm sorry to say that it was me who introduced Bernadette to that jerk of an ex. Didn't she tell you?"

"Yes, she did," Amy replied. She wondered how well Penny knew Doctor Cooper. _Well enough to call him by his first name. _Amy felt weirdly jealous.

"So, tell me," Penny moved forward conspiringly, "what's Sheldon like as a teacher? I helped him pick out that checkered suit, you know. Oooh, he was so nervous to start class."

Amy was confused; wasn't Penny friends with Bernadette? Would it not be strange to discuss her ex-boyfriend? While Amy didn't know all the social conventions, she still figured this was a bit strange. Also, she picked out his clothes… And Doctor Cooper was nervous?

"He's alright, I guess," Amy said. "I actually have to hand in a paper tomorrow, he's riding us pretty hard."

Penny nodded thoughtfully. "I thought the semester had like, just started? Already a paper to write," she muttered. "Typical Sheldon."

Amy decided to just drink instead of answering. Penny nudged her, "Bernadette just came in, you should get to your table."

Amy stood up from the barstool and went to grab her wallet. Penny stopped her, "It's on the house."

"Thank you," Amy smiled at her. "It was nice to meet you, Penny," she said and she meant it.

"And you! When I see Sheldon later tonight, I won't tell him one of his students was out on a school night," she replied, winking at Amy. Amy gave her a small smile, and walked over to the table where Bernadette had already settled down.

They had a nice dinner, but Amy was preoccupied with a question she didn't dare ask Bernadette:

_Why would Penny see Doctor Cooper later that night?_

* * *

Amy was stressed out. It was Friday and she had been hung-over all day. The evening with Bernadette had escalated, mainly because Penny kept bringing them ridiculous amounts of wine. At seven at night, Amy had finally felt well enough to do some actual work.

She had spent almost an hour revising her Euler-Lagrange paper, not satisfied at all with what she had written. The deadline was approaching rapidly, so it would just have to do.

After saving her document a final time as a pdf-file, she clicked on her internet browser. It came up blank. The tiny, pixelated T-rex informed her she was offline. Amy stared at the icon displaying the Wi-Fi signal. There was none.

_Shit. Shit, shit, shit. _

It was seven minutes till the deadline. The router wasn't in Amy's studio, but in her neighbours'. She quickly walked out of her apartment, and knocked on the door adjacent to hers.

No one answered.

Trying to take calming breaths, Amy racked her brain what to do. Doctor Cooper had given them a hard deadline, any paper submitted after eight o'clock would receive an automatic fail. He didn't seem like the type of person who'd be lenient about this.

She could try. Taking a final deep breath, Amy rang Bernadette. "Hey Ames! God, I've been _so _hungover today… did you manage to finish your paper?" Bernadette sounded rather terrible and Amy felt awful to bother her with her this.

"Yes, I did," Amy said, "Listen, uh… this is awkward but.."

She looked at the clock in the bottom right corner of her laptop. Five minutes. She would just have to suck it up and ask her.

"What is it?" Bernadette asked her.

Amy breathed in and went for it. "My Internet is down and I can't upload the paper. The deadline is in less than five minutes. Without Internet, I have no means to ask for reprieve…"

Bernadette saved her from having to ask her point-blank. She probably understood Amy's reluctance to ask her directly.

"Relax, Amy, I know how difficult Sheldon can be," she said, laughing slightly, "I'll send you his number by text. You can still receive those, right?"

Amy answered affirmative. "Thank you, Bernadette, you're a life saver."

After a beat, Bernadette's text came through. "I got it, thanks," Amy said, "I'll call you back later, okay? It's almost eight."

"It's okay," Bernadette laughed, "good luck."

Dialling the unfamiliar number, Amy hoped her heart would calm down a little. She was about to call her professor on a Friday night. On his private cell number.

"Hello?" he answered. _God, that voice. _She hadn't heard him speak since their conversation last Monday. She felt tingles in her stomach.

"Uhm, Doctor Cooper?" she asked. "It's uhm... Amy. Amy Farrah Fowler? From your Theoretical Physics class?"

He was silent for a beat. "Miss Fowler," he said. "Maybe they work differently at Harvard, but at Caltech it's considered inappropriate for students to call their professors outside of office hours on their private phone numbers. You had better have a good reason for this unacceptable behaviour."

_To be continued_

**A/N One of my anonymous reviewers asked if the rating of this story would change: maybe it will, maybe it won't... If you've read my other stories, you probably already know what I like to write about xD **

**I love to hear your thoughts and opinions, though. Let me know! **


	4. Revelations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 3**

**Revelations**

Amy took a deep breath, her palms breaking out in sweat. He was right, of course. What possessed her to call her professor on his private phone? Surely, a paper couldn't be that urgent.

"Miss Fowler?" his voice sounded impatient.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Doctor Cooper," she replied, hoping her voice sounded more steady than she felt. "I shouldn't have called, my apologies."

She had almost disconnected the line, when she heard his voice through the earpiece.

"You've already made me pause my activities, Miss Fowler. You might as well tell me why you're contacting me – and not via e-mail." He sounded gruff. _Activities? _Oh my! What if he had… _company_ over? Amy felt mortified.

"That's just the thing, Doctor Cooper," she said, "my Internet is down. I can't get to the router next door, and now I'm not able to submit my paper on the Euler-Lagrange equation through the university's secure connection."

She heard him exhale. "Cutting it kind of close, aren't we, Miss Fowler?"

Amy felt herself blush at his tone. It was a good thing he couldn't see her face. He made her feel so uncomfortable. Her stomach in knots, her palms sweating.

"Yes," she said, because he was right – again.

"How do I know you're not calling me because you didn't finish before the deadline, and need more time to complete your work?" he demanded.

She paused. "You don't," she said. "I could read it out to you, but it's rather difficult with all the formulas and equations."

"Did you save it as a pdf-file?"

"Obviously," she answered. Who handed in a Word-file? Doctor Cooper acted like that hadn't taught her anything at Harvard, the way he spoke to her as if to a child.

"Add a time-stamp to it, that way I'll know you won't have tampered with it after tonight."

Amy halted. She didn't know how to time-stamp a document. She hated that his previous attitude towards her was somewhat justified now. "How do I time-stamp in Adobe?" she asked timidly.

Doctor Cooper snorted. "I would suggest you Google that, but that would be difficult without Internet. What version of Adobe Acrobat are you using?" He proceeded to talk her through the process, seemingly from memory. Amy had to reel in her responses to him. She couldn't help but be impressed by his intelligence again.

"Alright, please see to it that I receive the paper Monday morning at nine the latest," Doctor Cooper said brusquely.

"I will, Doctor Cooper," Amy muttered. "Thank you so much. I swear, this won't be a regular occurrence."

"Were you referring to your inability to hand in a paper except at the latest possible moment, or to this inappropriate phone call?"

Amy stammered. "Th-the former," she answered, embarrassed.

"How _did_ you get my number, Miss Fowler?"

And she thought it couldn't become more awkward between them. He already called her out twice for calling him on his personal cell, and now she had to confess how exactly she got his number.

"I uhm…," Amy halted, there was no other way to phrase this than the cold hard truth. "Your ex gave it to me."

After a pause, his response came. "My ex?"

Amy furrowed her brow. He was making this even more awkward than necessary. "Yes... Bernadette?"

"Excuse me?" he sounded appalled. God, she had really crossed a line asking Bernadette for his number. Maybe she should just start packing up her things tonight, and move back home tomorrow.

"It was the only way I figured I could contact you," she replied quickly, hoping to do some damage control. "I'm sorry if I've created an uncomfortable situation between the two of you."

"No, I understand your reasoning for asking my number," he sounded irritated, "my question is why you would think that Miss Rostenkowski is my ex?"

Amy didn't know what to say. Perhaps they had some sort of friends-with-benefits arrangement, and were never really an item? Could he be this angry about semantics?

"I don't know what she told you, Miss Fowler," he continued, sounding angry again, "but I _assure _you that I never have been – and never will be – an item with someone who was once pair-bond to Howard Wolowitz."

Suddenly everything clicked in Amy's mind.

Doctor Cooper wasn't Bernadette's ex. It was Howard.

_Of course! _It all made sense. Bernadette had warned her for her flirty ex, Howard himself kept asking about her, and Penny had called him a jerk, but had spoken quite lovingly of Sheldon.

Amy was dumbfounded by her own foolishness.

"I'm sorry, Doctor Cooper," she said, afraid that he'd be angry at Bernadette for this misunderstanding. "I must've misinterpreted her. When we were at the Cheesecake Factory, she said her ex was there. I don't know why I assumed it was you."

What must he think of her? She had never been so embarrassed.

Doctor Cooper hummed in her ear. "A logical assumption. After all, why would a respected scientist such as Miss Rostenkowski, choose Wolowitz, _an engineer,_ as a mate?" he sounded awfully arrogant, and strange enough, it made Amy's stomach flutter.

"Please, don't mention this to her," Amy asked, "I'll call her in a minute. Gosh, I'm so embarrassed!" she giggled awkwardly.

"Since she ended the relationship with Wolowitz, I hardly ever talk to her," he responded, "I won't mention this to him, either. Although, I must admit this particular titbit could be useful to rile him up sometime when he annoys me." He laughed in the ear piece.

Amy didn't know how to respond to that.

Amy had to think about a lot of things, she realised. The biggest bombshell was that she had completely misinterpreted Bernadette's words. The other thing was that Doctor Cooper obviously had a strange kind of friendship with Howard.

The final thing was making it the hardest to continue this conversation.

Now that Doctor Cooper turned out _not _to be Bernadette's ex, he was a little less off-limits. But still, it would be much better if you would get over this schoolgirl crush as soon as possible.

She was about to bring the conversation to an end, when she heard a feminine voice on the other side of the line. She could hear it clear as day.

"Hi sweetie, I thought you had plans with the guys.. Oh! You're on the phone, I'm sorry!"

It was Penny. Amy was almost positive. That made no sense. Hadn't Penny said that she was in a relationship with Leonard Hofstadter? Why would she be around Doctor Cooper on a Friday night, calling him 'sweetie' no less?

"It's alright, Penny," she heard Doctor Cooper say to her. "The conversation was over already."

Amy didn't know why it felt like a bucket of ice suddenly dropped on her head. It was none of her business what her professor did in his free time, and if he did so with the girlfriend of a colleague.

"Thank you again for your consideration, Doctor Cooper," Amy said softly. She wanted to hang up and go out drinking. Now.

"It's quite alright. I do expect you to be more prudent with deadlines in the future," he answered. "Enjoy your weekend, Miss Fowler."

The line went dead.

Amy breathed out and decided to get it over with. She put her phone up to her ear. "You want to go out tonight?" she started immediately after Bernadette answered. "I _have _to tell you something."

* * *

Bernadette waved at her, half-standing on her barstool. It was a good thing she did, she was so small, Amy would have looked over her otherwise.

"Hey Amy! I went ahead ordered us a cosmopolitan," she greeted, "I've heard that the best cure for a hangover is _more_ alcohol."

Apparently, she had already started without her, she appeared already buzzed.

Probably a good thing, Amy thought, with the giant blunder she was about to reveal. Amy herself was still rattled from the enormous plot twist from earlier.

"Thanks," Amy murmured and moved the triangular glass to her lips.

"Sooo, how did the telephone conversation with _Doctor Cooper_ go?" Bernadette was smirking at her, as Amy chocked on her drink.

"It was fine," Amy replied, "he gave me 'till Monday."

Bernadette stared at her. "You're kidding, right," she said, "you mean to tell me that he was okay with you handing in your paper after the deadline?"

Amy blushed and nodded. She hastily took another sip of her drink.

Bernadette narrowed her eyes at her. "That awfully nice of him," she said after a beat. "And totally out of character..." she whispered under her breath.

"What?" Amy asked, though she heard her.

"Well," Bernadette started, "It's just that the Sheldon I came to know last year was really strict. I've always thought he has some kind of obsessive compulsive disorder. He lives by a schedule you see, every week is almost the same... Howie always said that whenever they wanted to do something different, they had to give him a two weeks' notice."

Amy mulled it over. He _did _seem strict, yes. But Bernadette made him sound really rigid. If you thought about it like that, it did seem strange for him to give her extra time.

"But hey, it's been couple months since me and Howie broke up, so perhaps he's changed," she finished.

Amy couldn't believe how Bernadette mentioned Howard's name twice in a row now when she spoke of her ex. She could have saved Amy a lot of embarrassment if she'd done that _just once _before tonight.

"I guess," Amy said, taking another rather large sip of her cosmopolitan for Dutch courage.

_Well, _she thought, _here goes nothing. _

"So, funny story... I actually thought Doctor Cooper was your ex, instead of Howard." She gave Bernadette an awkward grimace, and then downed her drink in one gulp.

Bernadette burst out laughing. "AMY! OH my GOD!"

She didn't stop laughing for a really long time. Amy was even able to signal the waiter for two more cosmopolitans – she was fast developing a drinking habit with a friend like Bernadette – and actually receiving them as well, when Bernadette seemed to calm down a little.

"It's not _that _funny, you know," Amy muttered. "I thought I was calling your ex to ask for extra time on the paper, do you know how awkward that conversation was?"

Bernadette burst into a fit of giggles, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I can't believe this! This is hilarious. Did you tell him?"

"Yes!" Amy exclaimed, finally seeing the hilarity of the situation a little as well. "He said it was a logical assumption, considering you're intelligence and Howard's lack of it."

"Aw, I always liked him," Bernadette smiled, "he was always mean to Howie though. I never got to find out why."

Bernadette held up her glass in a toast, "To Amy, how got the great Sheldon Cooper to deviate from his self-imposed rules!"

Amy toasted with her, reluctantly though. "He's my teacher, Bernie," she said, "he keeps insulting my major and appears to hate Harvard. Maybe he took pity on me."

"Oh, come on, Amy!" Bernadette replied, "I don't think he would have reacted the same if it were Howard calling him about this." She gave Amy a suggestive look, which Amy didn't really know how to interpret.

Could Bernadette be suggesting that Doctor Cooper favoured her in some way? The thought confused Amy. She was already confused enough thinking of her own reactions to him. He made her so nervous.

She quickly changed the subject.

"If you don't mind me asking," Amy said, feeling loads better now that this misunderstanding was out of the way, "what happened actually between you and Howard?"

Bernadette scrunched up her nose. "I really don't like to talk about it," she said. "Maybe after a couple more drinks."

But even after a fourth cosmopolitan, they hadn't gone back to discussing either Doctor Cooper or Howard Wolowitz. As Amy lay in bed with her blurry ceiling spinning rapidly in front of her, she realised she never got around to asking Bernadette the other nagging question that had been on her mind.

_What was the deal with Penny?_

* * *

Amy's neighbour returned home that Sunday evening. After resetting the router, the WiFi connected instantly. She apologized profusely to Amy, even going so far to give her an extra key to her place if it were to happen again.

Amy booted up her laptop, and uploaded her paper through the secured link on the University website.

She went about her chores, dusting and cleaning her tiny apartment. When she found out the university offered housing, Amy had been really glad – it saved her a lot of hassle trying to find a temporary apartment herself. If she'd known the housing would be parsimonious, she would have looked for something herself.

She was just about to vacuum, when her phone buzzed on the coffee table. An unknown number texted her.

_From (+ 1) 555 0162  
I see your Internet is functioning again. _

Amy stared at her phone.

Her heart beat rapidly in her chest.

Surely, it couldn't be that Doctor Cooper was texting her. Was he? She went back to her call log, to check her suspicions.

It was the same number she dialled Friday evening at 7:57 PM.

Amy took a seat on the couch, her legs suddenly shaking. What was she supposed to do with this? Should she answer? He hadn't asked her a question. He merely stated a fact – he must have received a notification that her paper was uploaded to his inbox.

She quickly went to save his number in her phone. What should she name him in her phone? _Doctor Cooper_? Or _Sheldon Cooper_? They weren't on first name basis. _Why was this so confusing?_

She didn't want too much time to pass before she responded, it would be redundant if she did. He was still her professor and had a paper of hers to grade. Best to stay in his good graces, she reasoned.

The urge to text him back had nothing to do with the fact that her palms were sweating and her sudden dry mouth. At least… that's what she tried to tell herself.

_To: Dr Cooper  
Yes, it is. Thank you again for giving me the extra time and not an automatic fail. _

He didn't respond. Amy stared at her phone for a long time. It wasn't an inappropriate response, was it? _He _started it! She huffed and continued her chores, trying not to check her phone the entire time.

Amy distracted herself by re-watching a sitcom on Netflix. Just when she climbed into bed, nervous already with seeing Doctor Cooper again the next day, her phone buzzed again.

_From: Dr Cooper  
I'd like to discuss your paper with you. Would you be able to meet me after class tomorrow? _

_To be continued_

**A/N: Please, let me know your thoughts. I love to read them. **


	5. Invitations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 4**

**Invitations**

Amy had a dead grip on her phone. What the hell? He wanted to see her. While she hadn't been completely satisfied with what she had written, it couldn't be _that bad_, could it?

Or, perhaps he was so thoroughly impressed by her work (for a Harvard student), that he wanted to compliment her in person? That seemed unlikely as well, despite Bernadette's suggestive comment.

_To: Dr Cooper  
I'm available tomorrow after class. Should I be worried? _

He answered more quickly this time.

_From: Dr Cooper  
Let's discuss that tomorrow. _

Her stomach sank. That sounded rather ominous. How was she going to be able to sleep now?

* * *

Amy knocked on his office door, suddenly feeling chilly. She looked down at the ground waiting for his call for her to enter. Why wasn't she wearing tights? She wore knee-high white socks instead. When had she gotten these?

And this pleated skirt was a piece of clothing she couldn't remember purchasing either…

"Come in, Miss Fowler," his voice rang out.

Amy pushed open a rather heavy door and entered a darkened office. _Wasn't it still light out? How come it's so dark in here?_

Doctor Cooper sat at his desk holding a tumbler with some kind of amber liquid. _Was he drinking on the job? _He had taken off his suit jacket and his tie was loose around his neck.

"I assume you know why I asked you to come see me, Miss Fowler?" he asked.

Amy didn't. Not really. She assumed it was because of how she did on her paper. She wanted to tell him so, but the look he gave her made her think it might be something else. He stared at her so intensely.

"I'm not sure," she said questioningly.

His eyes widened at her in anger. "I'm not sure, _who?" _he spoke menacingly.

Amy gulped. "I'm not sure, professor," she whispered. He nodded slightly.

"I asked you to come see me, Miss Fowler," he started as he stood up from behind his desk and started to walk towards her, "because I need to talk to you about your inappropriate behaviour."

Amy stared at him. _What? _The way he looked her made her knees go weak. He came to a halt right next to her. She couldn't remember him ever being this close to her.

"I think I need to discipline you, Miss Fowler," he spoke softly.

Amy's knees buckled in response. "Wh-why is that?" she stuttered. "Professor?" she added quickly.

Doctor Cooper chuckled mirthlessly. "Your Harvard education speaks volumes once again, Miss Fowler," he said. "Or do you deem it appropriate for a student to call her professor late at night with a request?"

Amy's breathing quickened. He was right of course. She had been completely out of line.

"You must understand it displeases me greatly to go to such measures," he muttered, "but you leave no choice."

He stood behind her now. Amy broke out in cold sweat. _What was happening? _She swallowed nervously.

"Hands on the desk, Miss Fowler," he ordered.

It took her about half a second to comply. Amy trembled as she bent forward to do as he said.

Her mind was in overdrive. What did he mean, _discipline her? _

And why was she wearing what she just now realised was a Catholic schoolgirl uniform?

She felt a sudden cool breeze across her backside. Doctor Cooper appeared to have lifted up her skirt.

She heard him take a deep breath, as if to prepare himself. "I really hope this makes you behave better in the future, Miss Fowler," Doctor Cooper muttered. She felt his hand on her behind.

Amy held her breath in nervous anticipation. He lifted his hand from her, and the felt the gust of wind before she felt his palm connect to her -

Amy woke with a gasp. She was panting, sweating profusely. There was a telling tingle in her nether regions.

Well, she thought. So much for hoping she had a chance to get over this crush.

* * *

She looked terrible. Even Bernadette told her so.

After her rather erotic dream, Amy had barely slept. She was fidgety all day, nervous about her meeting with Doctor Cooper. She almost went as far as to read her paper again, so see if she made some kind of mistake, but she didn't dare.

She stood at the sink, rinsing out a beaker when her mind drifted back to her dream. Besides all the obvious clichés – _a schoolgirl outfit, really Amy?_ She chided herself – it had been rather stimulating. She was pretty pissed off that she had woken up when she did.

"Amy!" Bernadette called out, pulling her out of her thoughts. "You're wasting all the hot water like this!"

"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry," Amy quickly turned off the faucet.

"What's with you?" Bernadette asked, looking at her quizzically.

"I don't know," Amy said, although she knew perfectly well. She almost dropped one of the slippery glass beakers when she tried to dry them.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were nervous for your class later."

If Bernadette saw through her fake laughter, she didn't mention it.

* * *

Amy tried to fix her appearance as best as she could in the ladies' bathroom. She even went as far as to use some make-up which she almost never did. The dark circles under her eyes were a little less visible now.

She walked into the class room, taking what she considered 'her' seat.

Howard walked in, and took his usual seat next to hers. Now that she knew about him and Bernadette, everything made so much more sense. Doctor Cooper was too tall for a tiny girl such as Bernie. Amy berated herself for her own stupidity.

"Hey, Amy," Howard greeted her, giving her an awkward smile.

"Hi," she responded, busying herself with grabbing her notebook from her bag.

"I hope Sheldon wasn't too strict grading our papers," Howard continued, and Amy wondered why he bothered speaking to her, "I thought it was really difficult. Theoretical physics is very different from my usual field of engineering."

"I'll bet," Amy replied, only to fill the awkward silence between them.

"What field of biology do you do?"

"Neurobiology, specialising in addiction in mammals," Amy answered. Thankful to change the subject from either Theoretical Physics or Doctor Cooper to a topic she was comfortable talking about.

"Oh, that's cool," Howard said, seemingly genuinely interested. "Do you share a lab with Bernadette?"

And it was back to awkward again. It was the umpteenth time that Amy felt uncomfortable discussing Bernadette, but this was the first time she actually knew Howard was her ex.

"I do, yeah," she said, feeling incredibly awkward. "Bernadette specialises in microbiology though, but I assume you know that."

Doctor Cooper entered the class room, his eyes on them immediately. "Mister Wolowitz, Miss Fowler," he nodded to them in greeting.

His eyes bore straight through her. Amy swallowed thickly.

She couldn't help but think back to her naughty dream at the sound of his voice saying her name. Unconsciously, she squeezed her legs together.

She tried to look him in the eye – trying to see if she could find out why he would want to see her later on – but his eyes were diverted to her legs. _What? _

Doctor Cooper cleared his throat. "Good afternoon, class," he said, his voice rang clear through the classroom. He was no longer looking at her.

"I have already finished grading your papers on the Euler-Lagrange equation," he stated, his eyes sweeping across all the students in the classroom.

"I must say I was pleasantly surprised by some of them," he said, sounding so, "and thoroughly disappointed by others." His eyes flickered over to her face.

Amy felt her face flush.

Doctor Cooper looked at his notes in front of him and cleared his throat again. "Alright, let's continue with today's materials, shall we?"

"Excuse me, Doctor Cooper?" a student called out from the back of the class.

"Yes?"

"When will we receive the grades on our papers?"

Doctor Cooper shuffled through the papers in front of him. "I will post them by Friday at the latest, Mister Johnson," he answered, "I still need some time to… _revise_… my initial assessments."

Students all around Amy started to murmur. Amy sat stiff as a board in her seat. He was obviously referring to her and how well she did. Wasn't he? Or did he have _more _students he wanted to see about the paper?

She felt a totally illogical jolt of jealousy towards these unknown students.

She was so distracted for the rest of the class, she wasn't able to catch a word Doctor Cooper was saying. When she looked at the formulas on the board, it had to be about Beltrami's identity. But she had hardly understood that when she wrote her paper, let alone now.

Before she knew it, the two hour lecture was over and people were packing up there things around her.

She looked up hesitantly at Doctor Cooper. His eyes were already on her. Her heartbeat quickened.

"My office is on the fourth floor, end of the southeast corridor, room 4.21," he said to her, his voice barely reaching her over the sound of chairs scraping across the floor. No one seemed to notice their exchange.

"I'll expect you there in fifteen minutes," Doctor Cooper said, his eyes widening slightly.

Amy nodded at him. "Yes, professor," she muttered. Doctor Cooper froze and looked at her strangely.

_Shit. _

_What had she just done? _She had called him 'professor'! Like in she had in her naughty dream… Oh, how she wished she could take back her words.

She quickly exited the classroom, breathing deeply.

Powerwalking to the girls' bathroom to throw some cold water in her face, Amy tried to get away as soon as possible. She looked at her face. Still flushed as ever, with big red splotches in her neck. The concealer underneath her eyes did little to cover up the dark circles under them.

She cooled down by holding her wrists under the cold running water.

She exited the bathroom and made way to the elevators. She should just suck it up and get it over with.

Suddenly, she heard Howard call after her. "Hey! Amy, wait up!"

Hesitantly, she turned around. She had never been to the southeast corridor, her classes were on the ground floor and her lab at the other side of campus. She didn't know how long it would take her to get there. Fifteen minutes seemed doable, though. But she had already wasted a couple in the bathroom.

"What is it, Howard?" she asked, trying to sound neutral. It still bothered her that she didn't know what had happened between him and Bernadette.

"Sooo," Howard started, adopting some sort of charming voice, but sounding more sleazy than charming. "I was wondering if maybe you would like to meet up with me some time, to discuss your addiction study over coffee."

Amy stared at him. He really had some nerve.

"To discuss my addiction study or to discuss Bernadette?" she said, raising her eyebrows at him.

Howard laughed awkwardly. "Why would I want to discuss Bernadette?" he asked, chuckling as if she were joking, but failing greatly.

Amy just gave him a look.

He gave in easily. "Okay, fine," he said exasperatedly. "It's just – she won't talk to me. I just want to talk to her. Could you tell her that?"

Amy felt pity for the man. He seemed sincere, at least.

"I guess," Amy said. She still didn't know what had passed between them. She felt uncomfortable talking to him about this.

"Or, you know…" Howard continued, "maybe you could let me know where you're hanging out sometime at a bar or something, and I would just happen to be there?"

Amy frowned at him. "What would you do then? You didn't come up to us at the Cheesecake Factory that time."

Howard huffed. "I would have if Sheldon hadn't stopped me…" he muttered.

"What?" Amy asked, confused.

"It doesn't matter," Howard said, determinedly. "You would really help me out."

Amy frowned still. "I don't know, Howard," she said. "Bernadette is basically the only friend I have around here, and I don't want to jeopardize the friendship by being friends with her ex."

Howard nodded. "You're right," he muttered. "I understand. But hey, you can't blame a guy for trying right?"

Amy gave him a pitiful smile. "Sorry."

She looked at her watch. This whole exchange with Howard had cost her precious minutes.

"I'm sorry, I have to go or I'll be late for an appointment," she said hastily, moving towards the elevators. Before Howard had a change to offer her to walk with her, she made a beeline for the elevators, jumping in quickly before they closed in on his face.

She walked around the central hall, wondering which of the corridors was the southeast one. Finally just picking one, she started to walk towards the end. She noted with dissatisfaction that the numbers were even and descending in order. Turning around quickly, Amy picked the corridor next to that, the room numbers started with 4.11 and ascended. This was it.

Jogging a little, but not too much to exert herself, she moved quickly to the end.

_4.21  
Sheldon L. Cooper, PhD  
__Particle Physics_

Amy looked down at her legs, just checking she was still wearing her tights instead of a Catholic schoolgirl uniform. She took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in, Miss Fowler."

**A/N Don't forget to review on your way out. **


	6. Provocations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

** Chapter 5 **

**Provocations**

Amy pushed open the door, the strange feeling of déjà vu coming over her. Luckily, this office was light and Doctor Cooper wasn't sitting behind his desk holding a tumbler of whiskey.

He was standing at a white board next to his desk, his back to her. He had taken off his suit jacket, and Amy wished he hadn't. She was able to take a good look at his bottom like this. _Hoo. _

When it seemed that he would not start the conversation, she cleared her throat awkwardly. "You wanted to see me, Doctor Cooper?"

He closed the cap on his magic marker and turned around. He sighed deeply, and went to take a seat behind his desk. He waved toward the chair in front of the desk, "Yes, please take a seat."

"I assume you know why I asked you to come see me, Miss Fowler?" he asked.

Amy stared at him. _Hadn't he said the exact same thing to her in her dream? _

She coughed, avoiding his eyes. They were incredibly blue and seemed to be able to look through her. "Um, I guess you want to discuss my paper with me."

"Yes," he answered, he pulled a printed copy of her paper towards him, and opened it. Amy could see the margins filled with scribbles and question marks. Her stomach sank. This was worse than she thought.

Doctor Cooper looked up at her. "I hate to say this, Miss Fowler," he started, "but this work does not meet the requirements for a passing grade."

He paused to let it sink in. Amy released a breath. Did he do this with all his failing students?

She would just have to find a different minor, she figured. She could make an appointment with Ms Davis about this.

She looked back at Doctor Cooper.

"There are some ways to _improve _your work, so to speak, I could give you extra credit if you are willing to… work for it," he said, raising an eyebrow at her.

Amy looked at him in confusion. Doctor Cooper stood up from behind is desk, and his hands went to his belt, unbuckling it. She stared at him. Her heart beating rapidly in her chest. Her mouth suddenly dry.

"Perhaps your oral skills are better than your analytical ones," he muttered, lowering the zipper of his pants and - - -

"Miss Fowler?"

Amy blinked. She shook her head, clearing it from her daydream. What was _wrong _with her? Letting her mind wander like this, while she was in his office no less.

"Yes?" she squeaked. She didn't know what he had said. She squirmed in her seat. He looked at her quizzically.

He cleared his throat. "Ahem," he said, "As I was saying, I was able to determine the causes of your miscalculations and where you went wrong with your interpretation of the theory itself. Now, I understand, with your expertise in biology rather than physics, the matter can be difficult to comprehend. Theoretical physics is a very abstract subject, and not all academics are able to grasp the concepts. "

She nodded at him. "I understand," she said. "Thank you for your time, Doctor Cooper. I'll contact Ms Davis shortly to go see if I can still join a different minor at this time in the semester. Perhaps something in the liberal arts."

Doctor Cooper looked appalled.

"The liberal arts?" he sounded outraged. "You will do no such thing, Miss Fowler!"

Amy stared at him. "I don't understand, I received a failing grade. Didn't you say in class that this paper was to test the students to see who would be fit for the programme? I assumed you would ask me to leave your class."

"You misinterpret my words, Miss Fowler," he said after a beat. "I said _if you perform inadequately, we will have to see if you are fit for this class at all._"

Amy didn't really see a difference in this statement and her interpretation.

"While you did perform inadequately," Doctor Cooper continued, "I see no reason yet to ask you to leave my class. You showed potential in your work."

Amy blinked at him.

"Now, as I said, I was able to find the root of your mistakes," he said. "You have difficulty grasping the truly abstract parts of the theory, you also misinterpreted the formula integrated in the equation itself, and that translated itself into your incorrect calculations."

It sounded like a lot of mistakes to Amy.

She bent forward and reached over to the paper between them on the desk. "May I?" she asked, looking up at him. His eyes shifted back up to her face quickly, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. _Had he been looking down her blouse? _

"Go ahead," he answered, his voice rather hoarse.

Amy willed the sudden blush on her face to go away. She must have been imagining things, like she had before. She leaved through the paper, her eyes moving over his scribbles in the margins. He had written a lot. There was no way she would be able to read it all while he stared at her.

She could feel his eyes on her. She had never been this aware of everything she did; was she breathing too loud? Were her hands shaking? Could he really look down her blouse? If so, he must have been able to in class as well..

She cleared her throat awkwardly. "I won't be able to read all this now. Could I take this home with me?" she asked, desperate to leave his office with her thoughts overflowing her head. She wasn't able to focus in class, and being in his office _alone_ made it even harder.

"Actually," he answered, "you're not allowed to. Not while I haven't published the grades for all the students."

"Right," Amy said. She closed the paper, but held it in her hands still.

"It's a ridiculous notion, really," Doctor Cooper stated, "but it's university policy."

Amy bent forward again, to hand him back the paper. At the last possible moment, she decided to see if she was really imagining things or if there was some truth in what she thought she saw before. Ever so subtly, she moved her upper arms inward as she bent forward, pressing her breasts together and giving him an even better view of her cleavage than before.

However, his eyes held hers steadily as he took the paper from her.

Amy sat back and felt more than a bit disappointed.

"Now," Doctor Cooper spoke business-like as ever, "I've been assuming you want to continue my class. If that is the case, you would have to apply yourself more than you have done for this paper."

He paused and gave her a pointed look.

Was she supposed to respond to this? The idea of starting a different minor really didn't appeal to her, and if she was honest with herself – she kind of liked having to look at Doctor Cooper every week.

"Do you wish to continue my class, Miss Fowler?"

Amy shrugged. "I really wanted to," she said, "my uncle was a physicist, and he always tried to engage me in his work. When I saw the possibility for doing a minor here during my final year... it made me think of him." She took a deep breath. She hadn't been planning on telling Doctor Cooper about her reasoning behind choosing his subject.

Doctor Cooper was looking at her strangely. She wasn't able to read the look on his face.

Amy suddenly felt vulnerable, talking about personal matters such as this. She wrapped her arms around herself, and looked away.

"But, it seems the course material is above my level," she finished softly.

Doctor Cooper cleared his throat. "I won't make a choice for you, Miss Fowler," he had foregone his business-voice, and spoke rather softly now, "but I really do think you will be able to grasp the material if you work harder. Tell me the truth, did you give this paper everything you had?"

She looked back at him. Of course she hadn't. She had been distracted by his handsome physique when she read the syllabus, and instead of researching the topic, she had researched _him. _He knew this.

Was he calling her out on this now? That seemed rather harsh, after she just told him something personal.

"I didn't," she said, looking at him defiantly. He was asking for it after all.

"I thought as much," he said. Amy stared at him. He had a lot of nerve. He was right, but still.

"Anyway," she said, angry now, "I'd better get going then. Since I will need to _apply myself more." _

She stood up from her seat, planning to make a hasty exit. Maybe she would quit his class after all. He was arrogant and showed to empathy whatsoever. She wondered what she ever saw in him. Besides the obvious blue eyes, height, authority and intelligence.

"Miss Fowler," Doctor Cooper called after her.

She stopped by the door. Slowly she turned around, and adopted a condescending tone not worthy of a student speaking to her teacher. "Yes, Doctor Cooper?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I was wondering how you were going to _apply yourself _without help, considering you have little understanding of the material?"

Amy flushed, she felt the blood rush through her veins. Could the man just be wrong for once?

"I'll figure something out," she muttered.

Doctor Cooper was standing by the whiteboard he had been studying when she entered his office. Her eyes glanced at it quickly and she suddenly recognized the equations on there. _The Euler-Lagrange equation._

"I was going to offer you _my_ help on the matter, Miss Fowler," his tone was snarky, "but if this is the attitude you're adopting, then please, see yourself out."

Amy stilled.

"Oh," she muttered. _How could she ever accept his offer? There was no way he could ever help her with understanding physics, because HE was the problem she didn't understand it in the first place!_

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was out of line."

"The lack of respect you show for your superiors is astonishing, Miss Fowler," he said. "I doubt this behaviour is tolerated at Harvard."

Amy swallowed away the sudden bile in her throat. "It won't happen again," she said, demurely. She looked up at him, hoping he believed her.

"Good," Doctor Cooper spoke in a sort of strangled voice.

The air around them was a-buzz with sudden tension.

"Now," Doctor Cooper said, clearing his throat again, "come over here."

Amy walked back over to his desk nervously, and made a move to sit down. "I said _come over here_, I didn't tell you to sit down," Doctor Cooper barked impatiently.

_Okay, so he was obviously still angry at her earlier behaviour, _Amy figured. She quickly got up again and walked over to him.

"All right," Doctor Cooper said, he indicated to the board, "the Euler-Lagrange equation. Before we can start discussing some of the finer points of analytical mechanics, we must first go back to the basics. Are you familiar with Newton's three laws of motion?"

Amy turned to him, not believing her ears. She felt her anger return now. That was high school physics. Her paper couldn't have been _that_ bad.

He was waiting for her to answer, his eyebrows raised.

"Of course I am," she muttered furiously.

"Recite them to me," he demanded, daring her.

Amy gaped at him. He was kidding, right? Briefly she entertained the possibility of leaving. She didn't have to stand here and be humiliated by him.

But then, the face of her uncle George flashed before her eyes, smoking his pipe, telling her about Newton and the apple falling on his head. She owed it to him to at least try to finish this minor.

"An object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force," she stated, glaring at the man in front of her.

He nodded at her, indicating her to continue.

"The acceleration of an object is dependent upon the net force acting upon the object and the mass of the object."

"Slightly simplified, but all right," he interjected.

"For every action, there's a reaction," she continued as if she hadn't heard him, simplifying this law on purpose.

She raised an eyebrow at him, daring _him _now.

His jaw ticked and he narrowed his eyes at her. He was silent as he looked at her, as though he was trying to figure her out. Amy held his gaze steadily. The air around them tense.

"What reaction are you trying to invoke here, Miss Fowler?" he muttered, and he moved forward determinedly.

_To be continued_

**A/N: I love all your responses, they really encourage me to continue. Thank you so much. **


	7. Admissions

**The Work Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 6**

**Admissions**

Doctor Cooper was so close. If she leaned forward, she would be able to touch him. Amy inhaled sharply.

Doctor Cooper swivelled left so fast she hardly had time to register it. He grasped the eraser from the whiteboard. He moved it quickly over the whiteboard, wiping out the equation right before her eyes.

Amy willed her heartbeat to slow down. She could have sworn he was going to kiss her.

"You're not ready for complexities such as the Euler-Lagrange equation," he said, not looking at her. There were red spots in his neck. Amy herself felt as if her face was on fire.

"This is enough for today," he said brusquely. "Send me your schedule by e-mail and I'll see when I can pencil in our next session."

He was still not looking at her. There was nothing left to wipe out on the board and he stood there awkwardly holding the eraser.

Amy swallowed away the dryness in her throat. "I will," she said, and hastily turned, practically running out of his office.

* * *

That Thursday Bernadette asked her out for drinks and Amy desperately needed it. She had been a mess the entire week. She kept replaying everything that happened in Doctor Cooper's office in her head.

She wasn't crazy, was she? He had almost kissed her.

The tension between them had been palpable. Amy was surprised she hadn't had any more naughty dreams.

The only way she was able to focus on her work was when she was in her lab. Bernadette had been asked to work on a project in the chemistry department, and had left Amy to fence for herself. It had been lonely without her. Her microscope was her best friend nowadays, always there for her, never judging.

Perhaps she was in need of some judgment after all, Amy figured. Or at least someone to talk to about this whole ordeal. Would Bernadette react somewhat positively if Amy told her about her crush? Amy was almost too afraid to talk to her about it.

What if she reacted negatively? Amy couldn't lose her only friend in California.

She needed a back-up plan to distract her if that were the case.

A back-up plan in the form of Howard Wolowitz.

* * *

Amy walked into the bar that evening. She rarely went to bars, and had decided to wear a dress instead of her usual skirt and cardigan ensemble. Who knew, perhaps she would be able to find someone to distract her from the thoughts of her professor.

Bernadette was late. It gave Amy the chance to send a message to Howard. She had looked him up on Facebook and found out he had listed his number for the whole world to see – or at least for friends of his friends.

_To: Howard Wolowitz_  
_Hi, I'll be meeting Bernadette in half an hour at the Blind Donkey, in case you still wanted to come by – Amy _

She had just put her phone away when Bernadette walked in. She hugged her when she reached the table. Amy immediately felt guilty for texting her ex.

"It's been awful in the lab without you, Bernie," Amy said, willing her guilt to disappear, "I hope your project will be finished soon."

"Aw, Amy!" Bernadette looked at her with pitiful eyes. "Probably sometime next week, so you just have to wait a little longer. It's really interesting though, we're combining my work in microbiology with their new insights in chemistry…"

Bernadette continued to talk about her work of the past days, and it all did sound really interesting to Amy. She was so caught up in all of Bernadette's anecdotes that she suddenly realised she should get the subject back to herself before Howard suddenly showed up. Had he even seen her text? It would be weird to check her phone in the middle of conversation.

Bernadette drained the last drops of wine from her glass. "You want another one?" she asked, standing up to go to the bar to order.

"Ehm, I'd like a cocktail actually," Amy answered, "anything with gin is fine."

Bernadette grinned at her. "I'm liking this attitude, Amy! Did I tell you I love your dress?"

Amy blushed as Bernadette walked over to the bar. She quickly grabbed her phone out of her bag.

_From: Howard Wolowitz_  
_Thank you so much! It's Anything Can Happen Thursday, so it's my lucky night. _

Amy stared at her phone. She didn't understand what he had written. _Anything Can Happen Thursday_, what did that mean?

She put her phone back, and sat back, waiting for Bernadette to return.

"She's right, you know," a male voice said behind her, "that dress looks great on you."

Amy turned around, unsure of what was happening. A rather tall man, with brown slightly wavy hair, sat behind her. He was extremely good-looking. Amy furrowed her brow at him, insecure despite his compliment.

"Thank you?" she replied, more questioning than sure of herself.

The man grinned at her. He looked confident. He was dressed casually and appeared to be alone. "I'm Zack," he said, taking a sip of his Belgian beer.

"Amy," she replied, giving him a small smile.

"Were you texting your boyfriend just now?" he asked. Amy wondered what was up with him. He couldn't be interested in her, could he?

"No, just a friend," Amy said. Zack grinned wider at her. "Good, good," he said. "I couldn't help but overhear some of your conversation, you sound really smart talking about molecules and whatnot."

Amy laughed, hoping she looked bashful. "Thank you, we shouldn't talk too much about work, but it had been a while since we saw each other."

"Right," Zack said, and looked behind her, "I see your friend is returning, I'll leave you to it. Perhaps I'll see you later, Amy." He winked at her – _winked! – _and stood up to leave. He gave Bernadette a nod in greeting when he walked over to the bar.

Bernadette widened her eyes at Amy. 'Oh my God!' she mouthed. Amy gave her a look.

"I don't know what just happened," Amy said. She glanced over to the bar. The man was way too attractive to be interested in her. She was never hit on by men in bars. Not that she frequented bars, but still. It had been over a year since she had last kissed a man.

"I think he was trying to pick you up," Bernadette gave her a mischievous smile. She handed Amy her cocktail and took a sip of her own glass.

"Speaking of men… what did _Doctor Cooper_ think of your paper?"

She had a rather suggestive tone in her voice. The way she spoke his name was an obvious allusion. Perhaps Amy had worried for no reason. Bernadette appeared to have thoughts on her and Doctor Cooper already.

"He failed me," Amy said, and took a rather large gulp of her drink. She coughed as it burned in her throat.

"No kidding!" Bernadette exclaimed. Amy went on to explain how she wrote half of the paper with a hangover from drinking with her and how she had misinterpreted parts of the theory.

"But I thought physics was your second best subject in school?" Bernadette questioned, "You should have been able to understand some of it, right?"

Amy almost emptied her glass with the nervous swig she took of her cocktail. "Physics was my second best subject when I wasn't attracted to the teacher…" she murmured.

Bernadette smirked. "I knew it," her eyes sparkled, "I could see it in the way you spoke about him. You've got it bad, girl." She laughed.

"Yeah, I guess," Amy said, "and now he has offered to tutor me privately about the subject, because I have potential, but I have to _apply myself more_."

Bernadette guffawed. "Private lessons from Sheldon," she repeated, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"This isn't funny, Bernadette!" Amy willed her to understand, "he's my teacher. Isn't this against some university policy? He's also almost ten years older than I am."

"Oh, boohoo!" Bernadette cut her off. "Those are terrible excuses and you know it. You're just scared of what will happen."

Amy looked away. She had a point. She was scared shitless.

"Or did something happen already?" Bernadette asked, Amy decided not to respond, but Bernadette wasn't paying attention to her at all. "I'm trying to remember the last time Sheldon ever said anything about a woman. There was that blonde, skinny girl. What was her name, Rachel? Ramona? I'll have to ask Penny about that."

"Please don't!" Amy said. "It's awkward enough as it is. I'm just going to focus on my work here and get over this silly crush I have. I'll be back in Boston in less than a year, so it's no use to explore this either."

Bernadette took a sip from her drinking, giving Amy a knowing look. "You're so scared, Amy. Just see what happens."

"I'd rather not," Amy muttered, but she knew she was lying.

"Well," Bernadette said, "if you keep on denying, you might as well see if that man from earlier is still interested in you."

Amy looked over to the bar. Zack was sitting there, still alone. He looked over to her, and gave her another wink, raising his glass in greeting. Amy gave him a small wave, smiling at him. He was attractive, she presumed. He wasn't intelligent and authoritative, but he was tall and had dark hair. Maybe she should see if she could continue the conversation after all.

Suddenly a smaller man with a Beatles-haircut caught her eye. Howard.

He was looking around the bar, standing on his toes. He looked dishevelled, like he had just run there. Amy quickly looked away before he could catch her eye, her guilt returning. _What would Bernadette think of her if she found out that it was her who told Howard where they were? _

"I'm going to go to the bathroom," Amy said, thinking quickly, "these drinks are running straight through me."

"Just don't leave me by myself if you plan on talking to tall, dark and handsome from earlier." Bernadette giggled.

Amy looked at Howard and could tell that he had noticed Bernadette. Amy made a beeline for that ladies room. She glanced back at them when she was out of sight.

Howard was standing by the table, and Bernadette was glaring at him. Amy couldn't make out what they were saying, but it couldn't be good. Bernadette's brow was furrowed and she had her arms crossed beneath her breasts. Howard was holding up his hands while he spoke to her.

Amy turned around and walked into the ladies'. Why had she done this? Her own stupid fears had caused an uncomfortable situation for her only friend. If she was still friends with her after this.

Amy took a deep breath, and looked into the mirror. She did look nice tonight, she thought.

Figuring it was time to rescue Bernadette from the horrible situation she had put her in, Amy pushed open the door to go back into the establishment.

She bumped into Zack almost immediately. "Sorry," she said, and made to move around him.

He grasped her arm, rather firmly. "Not so fast now, Amy," he slurred. _How many of those beers had he had? _He pulled her back, and Amy stumbled. The grip on her arm was almost bruising.

The little bit of attraction she had felt for him, disappeared in a flash.

"Now that I finally have you alone, I'm not letting you go before we finish our talk from earlier," he said, but he was hard to follow. His eyes were looking at her but lacking focus. Amy had seen this before in her addiction study. He was completely wasted.

Amy tried to pull her arm free from his grasp, but he wouldn't budge. "I'm not interested," she said firmly, trying to pry away his fingers loose from her arm. He was freakishly strong – or she was just really weak.

Zack chuckled at her and his breath reeked of alcohol. "Yeah, right," he grumbled, "you're a little tease, aren't you? Riling me up and then thinkin' you can say _no_ to me?"

He was moving in close and Amy was really panicking now. She was frozen in fear. Her heartbeat quickened and she desperately tried to think of anything – anything at all – she could do to get him away from her.

Her mind was completely blank.

Zack pushed her against the wall behind her and moved in closer to her.

"Please don't," she whimpered, desperately. Zack chuckled again, he sounded ominous.

"I believe the lady said no," a welcome – oh, so welcome – voice rang out, clear as day and as arrogant as he sounded in class.

_Doctor Cooper. _

_To be continued_

**A/N Sorry not sorry for the cliffhanger. Let me know what you think. **


	8. Connections

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 7**

**Connections**

Zack's face contorted in pain suddenly, and he was brought down to his knees by a force behind him. Doctor Cooper's face was revealed, and he looked livid. He had twisted Zack's arm in an unnatural angle behind his back, apparently causing him incredible pain.

Amy stared at him. She was breathing deeply, the panic fading a little, but she was still high-strung. Her stomach swooped at the sight of Doctor Cooper coming to her rescue like this.

Doctor Cooper released the arm aggressively, and pulled him back up by the back of his t-shirt. "Leave," he spat, "if I still see your face in or around these premises in five minutes, I will alert the authorities." He pushed Zack away, towards the front door of the bar. Zack stumbled and muttered as he walked away, swaying as he went.

Amy watched him leave. Feeling a strange sort of nothingness inside her. What had just happened? Adrenaline was still pumping through her. She was panting still, and to her horror her eyes filled with tears.

Hands held her upper arms, but much more softly than the hand from before. She froze anyway, her earlier panic returning.

Doctor Cooper was talking, but she couldn't think or really hear him. "Miss Fowler," the tone of his voice was urgent, but she wasn't able to respond. "Miss Fowler," he said again. Amy was almost hyperventilating now, tears falling from her eyes.

"_Amy_," her first name on his voice made her look up and snap out of her trance.

His eyes were looking through her once again. "Are you alright?" he asked, "Did he hurt you?"

Amy shook her head. "Are you sure?" he implored, his eyes scanning her face. She nodded, swallowing thickly. She was still crying and couldn't seem to stop. The full reality of what just happened suddenly hit her.

Doctor Cooper looked at her, his hands still on her arms. He seemed at war with himself.

Suddenly, her face was pressed against his chest as he crushed her against him.

Amy gasped and hiccupped through her tears. Her mind was a whirl of thoughts… Doctor Cooper was _hugging her_… Zack had just tried to force himself on her... Doctor Cooper smelled of talcum powder and fabric softener… He was warm to the touch.. She could feel the steady beat of his heart against her cheek…

She breathed out a rattled breath and continued to cry into his chest. Taking advantage of the situation, she moved her arms so she could grasp fistfuls of the shirt he was wearing.

Doctor Cooper petted her hair in a repetitive manner. "There, there," he said.

It was so incredibly awkward that Amy chuckled.

She breathed in deeply, trying to calm down. Suddenly, her heart stopped. _She totally abandoned Bernadette with Howard out there_.

She pulled away from Doctor Cooper abruptly, and he held fast onto her arm. He kept looking at her intensely.

"I-I-I left Bernadette out there with Howard," she said, panicking again.

Doctor Cooper looked at her incredulous. "If anyone can put Wolowitz in his place, it's her. I wouldn't worry about them," he said. "Are you okay?"

Amy wanted to nod in affirmation, but she couldn't. Fear gripped around her heart again of a sudden.

"I'll go get Miss Rostenkowski," Doctor Cooper said, eyeing her uncertainly, and he let go of her arm, turning around to walk away.

"No!" Amy blurred out, wildly grasping at him, her hand pulling on the back of his shirt. She didn't have to pull hard, he complied within seconds.

She was back in his arms again. Safe.

"Don't leave me alone," she whispered. "Please."

Doctor Cooper sighed deeply, and pulled her closer with one arm. He pulled out his phone with the other and pressed a couple of buttons. Amy could hear the line ring faintly through back of his phone.

_"__Hey, Sheldon,"_ an unfamiliar voice said. _"You never came back from washing your hands, where are you?" _

"Leonard, please tell Wolowitz to stop harassing Miss Rostenkowski. I'm in need of her assistance," he spoke all business-like again, "there's been a... situation, with her friend Amy. Tell her to come to the bathroom."

_"__What do you mean 'situation'? Is she alright –"_

Doctor Cooper had already hung up. His arm was still around her shoulders and Amy grasped the t-shirt in front of her. She got a glimpse of it when he turned around seconds before. Was there a Batman-logo on it? She must have been hallucinating.

"We should get you a hot beverage," Doctor Cooper muttered more to himself than to her.

Amy didn't respond. She was still shaking. The warmth radiating of Doctor Cooper was like a drug to her. She couldn't get enough. She burrowed into his chest again. Wasn't it supposed to feel wrong to be this close to him?

"Oh my God, Amy!" Amy let go of Doctor Cooper reluctantly. Bernadette was out of breath, Howard and - Amy assumed - Leonard Hofstadter on her heels.

Bernadette pulled her from Doctor Cooper's arms into hers. Amy closed her eyes while she squeezed Bernadette, letting out a choking breath. "What happened?" Bernadette muttered in her ear.

Amy pulled away from the hug. She wanted to answer, but no words came out. Amy was silent. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and looked up and caught Doctor Cooper's eye. She gave him a look, willing him to step in.

Doctor Cooper cleared his throat. "A drunk man tried to engage Miss Fowler in activities she didn't consent to," he said stoically. The others around them gasped.

"He _tried to_," Doctor Cooper emphasized, clearly annoyed they didn't listen to him all that well, "I stopped him."

"_You_ stopped him?" Howard asked disbelievingly.

"I'll have you know that my father taught me quite a few moves to gain the upper hand in a fight, Howard," Doctor Cooper responded haughtily.

"Guys," Bernadette interjected, stopping them. "Help me get a cab outside, would you. I'm taking Amy home."

Amy had half a mind to protest, but it wasn't as if she wanted to spend another minute in this bar.

"H-h-hold on," the bespectacled man Amy assumed was Leonard Hofstadter said, "why don't Sheldon and I take her home? It looks like the two of you have some things to talk about still."

Amy watched the scene in front of her. She noticed Bernadette flush at the comment, and Howard looked away embarrassed. Perhaps this whole evening hadn't been a total disaster after all.

"Amy?" Bernadette asked.

Amy looked at her. She could read it on Bernadette's face easily; _I´ll go with you if you want me to, but I really want to stay and talk to Howard. _

"You stay here with Howard, Bernie," Amy said, "I'll be fine."

"You sure?" Bernadette asked, and she grasped Amy's hand, squeezing it. Amy nodded. After a quick hug, Bernadette handed her the purse she had completely forgotten about. Amy waved at Howard and she walked with the two other men back into the bar.

The shorter one of them was in front of her. Doctor Cooper was close behind her. A little too close. She wasn't imagining things; he was practically fused to her back.

Outside, the short man turned to her. "So, _you're_ Amy, huh?" he smiled at her and held out his hand. "Leonard Hofstadter." Amy looked at him quizzically. Was he implying he had heard of her?

She grasped his hand firmly. "Amy Farrah Fowler," she answered, "it's nice to meet you, Doctor Hofstadter."

He laughed. "Please, call me Leonard," he grinned at her, "Doctor Hofstadter is my father. And my mother. And my brother and my sister. And come to think of it, our cat as well." Amy giggled. He was funny.

Doctor Cooper didn't seem that amused. "Leonard, please," he huffed. "She's had a rough enough evening as it is, there's no need for you to worsen it."

Amy gave Leonard a small smile. He grinned at her in response. "I'm sorry, Amy. Please forgive me," he said mockingly. It flew right over Doctor Cooper's head.

"It's alright, Leonard," she laughed. Doctor Cooper looked at them strangely. He held up his hand a flagged down a taxi.

The cab pulled over to the curb, and Doctor Cooper held open the door for her. He climbed after her, joining her on the backseat.

Amy hadn't expected him to climb in after her. Why didn't he just walk around the car and get in on the other side? Now, she had to move awkwardly to the side, after their bodies made full contact once again.

Leonard looked back at them when the driver asked for her address. Amy had to wrack her brains for a bit, her mind completely blank again. She muttered her address, and they took off.

Doctor Cooper was sitting fairly close to her still. He wasn't looking at her, rather looking out of the window. It bothered Amy that he wouldn't look at her. He had come to her rescue for God's sake. And then, afterwards, he had _hugged_ her.

Perhaps he was trying to regain some distance between them. He was her teacher after all. It was completely unprofessional for them to hug or have some other form of physical contact. Amy sighed. It had been nice to be held by him. He had hugged her close, and it had been wonderful. She hoped the smell of him would never leave her nostrils again.

Leonard seemed to sense the tension between them. "So, Amy," he said, "you're not from around here, are you?"

"I'm from Glendale actually, so not that far out," she replied, "but I've spent the last couple of years at Harvard."

"Oh, wow! Harvard, very impressive!" Leonard sounded sincere, while Doctor Cooper snorted softly.

"Must be nice to be back again, I imagine. How are you liking Caltech?" Leonard ignored Doctor Cooper's response.

"It's great," Amy said, deciding to ignore Doctor Cooper as well, "the labs here have amazing facilities, and I'm able to do things I couldn't even imagine doing at Harvard. In a couple of weeks, I'll probably be able to work with Capuchin monkeys. I'm really excited about that."

Leonard turned slightly from the front seat and gave her a smile. "That sounds fun, I guess."

Amy smiled. He was really doing his best to make her feel comfortable. It was more than could be said about Doctor Cooper, who was still steadily looking out of the window.

"What do you do, Leonard?" she asked, wanting to return the favour.

Doctor Cooper snorted out loud this time. "Please, Miss Fowler," he sneered, "don't pretend you didn't read all of his published works, now. The notable ones, that is."

He finally looked at her, and raised an eyebrow for good measure. Amy stared at him. She couldn't believe he was throwing that back in her face right now.

"I hate to break it to you, Doctor Cooper," she countered, "but a paper on why Star Trek: Original Series is superior to Next Gen, even though Next Gen has Picard in it, is not something I would call _notable_."

Doctor Cooper stared at her. He was narrowing his eyes at her again. His jaw ticking. Amy felt her face flush and was glad she was sitting in a relatively darkened car.

Leonard laughed awkwardly, seemingly to diffuse the tension. "My God, I totally forgot we wrote that! Is that in the school archives?"

The taxi came to a halt at her building, saving Amy from further embarrassment.

"It was nice meeting you, Amy," said Leonard. She unbuckled her belt and opened her purse, grabbing a couple of dollar bills for her share of the cab fare. "Don't worry about it," Leonard said.

Doctor Cooper unbuckled his belt as well. Amy looked at him in confusion.

"I'll walk you up," he said, and was already out the door.

Amy looked at Leonard, trying to see if he understood what was happening. He just smiled at her.

"Bye, Leonard."

Doctor Cooper was waiting for her by the front door of her building. He was wearing a Batman-shirt after all, Amy mused. It was weird, seeing him without his usual formal attire. Batman, she mused. The Dark Knight. _In shining armour, _she smiled at the thought. If it weren't for Doctor Cooper, her evening could have turned out horribly.

Amy pulled her key out of her purse, and opened the door for both of them. They stood side by side in silence as they waited for the elevator. Amy's palms were sweating. The realisation that she would be in a small confined space with Doctor Cooper suddenly came to her.

The elevator _dinged_ and they both entered. Amy pressed the button for the sixth floor. The air inside was stuffy. But her fear had been unnecessary, since Doctor Cooper was looking at the posters in the elevator.

"Is this university housing?" he asked, even though the elevator walls were filled with all kinds of posters emblazed with Caltech's orange logo.

"Yes," Amy replied, "only for temporary students such as myself, though. Most people on my floor are foreigners."

Doctor Cooper hummed in response. The doors of the elevator opened.

They arrived at her door, and Amy halted. She turned to him, preparing to thank him for his heroic actions of the evening. She was just about to do so, when he spoke first.

"Aren't you going to open your door?"

Amy gaped at him, and turned around, opening the door with shaking fingers.

_Doctor Cooper was in her apartment. _She wished she had cleaned up more before she left. The clothes she wore during the day were strewn on her bed. At least she had made the bed this morning. She looked around, it was fairly neat. It would just have to do.

Amy put down her purse, and turned around to Doctor Cooper, wondering if she should offer him something to drink. But he was way ahead for her, already in the small kitchenette, having filled the electric kettle with water. He held his phone, and was typing rapidly.

Amy took a seat on the small sofa, and watched Doctor Cooper working in her kitchen. He opened several kitchen cabinets. He pulled out two mugs and found her tea collection. He worked methodically. In no time he was seated next to her on the couch, handing her a mug.

"You have no camomile, so I made you peppermint instead. It's the next most soothing choice," he explained.

"Thank you," she said, avoiding his eyes.

"It's customary to make a guest in your home a beverage, but since you're upset, I took it upon myself to do so," he continued. He held her gaze as he took a sip of his own tea.

Amy blushed under his stare, feeling hot and not because of the heat from the tea. She looked at him, noticing he had prepared a cup for himself as well.

"Shouldn't you get back to Leonard downstairs?" Amy asked, uncomprehending why he seemed to make himself at home in her modest studio.

Doctor Cooper looked away. "He has probably left by now," he said. "I texted him to go ahead just now."

Amy stared at him. Her blood suddenly rushing through her veins. "What?" she asked nervously.

_To be continued_

**A/N I couldn't leave you hanging too long now. Your responses bring out the biggest smiles on my face. Thank you so much.**

**The next chapter will be up some time this week. In the mean time; please review :) **


	9. Implications

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 8**

**Implications**

"What do you mean, he left?" Amy asked.

"I don't see what could possibly be ambiguous about that sentence, Miss Fowler," Doctor Cooper replied. It stung her that he didn't call her by her first name anymore. "As I said, I told him to go home. So, I assume he left the premises."

Amy looked at him, her annoyance apparent. "Why did you tell him to leave?"

Doctor Cooper gave her a look. "Because, we are having tea and it would be illogical for Leonard to wait downstairs," he said as if _she_ was the one making no sense, "and that way, he will be able to spend some time with Penny, like he had originally wanted to."

"Right," Amy replied.

Doctor Cooper looked at her quizzically. "That's his girlfriend. I thought you had met her?"

"Who, Penny?" Amy asked, feeling uncomfortable discussing her. She had a weird relationship with Doctor Cooper. That much was certain. "I met her at the Cheesecake Factory once, yes."

"Yes," Doctor Cooper nodded, "she's mentioned it."

Amy didn't know what to make of that. Why would Penny mention her to Doctor Cooper? Hadn't she said that she wouldn't tell him that she was out on a school night? Already she had betrayed her trust. She might have been one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen, but it turned out that she was no different than the popular girls in school.

Amy didn't know what to say. She took a sip of her tea instead. What an evening she'd had. She never expected for it to end with Doctor Cooper next to her on the couch drinking tea.

"I think we should be happy that Wolowitz dragged us to that bar. I hate to think about what would have happened if I hadn't been there to intervene," Doctor Cooper said, his eyes holding her gaze steadily.

Her mind flashed back to the moment Zack had pushed her against the wall. She had been paralyzed with fear. Surely, someone else would have seen them, she reasoned. But would they have stopped him? Zack was a big man, tall and muscular. Perhaps not…

"It was no coincidence Wolowitz wanted to go _that _bar, was it?" Doctor Cooper interrupted her thoughts, giving her a knowing look.

Amy flushed.

Doctor Cooper was waiting for her to answer, his eyebrows raised at her.

"No, it wasn't," Amy said, there was no point in denying it. Doctor Cooper saw straight through her anyway.

"He was lucky it was Anything Can Happen Thursday today, otherwise he would have missed his second chance with Miss Rostenkowski," Doctor Cooper said, putting down his mug on the coffee table in front of him. He rested his forearms on his thighs, seemingly deep in thought. "Although, it's more of a fourth chance by now… After she had first dumped him, Wolowitz asked us to stop him if he ever tried to get back together with her. Did you know he wanted to come up to you as well that night at the Cheesecake Factory? He ran away from us tonight, though."

Amy felt her face heat up. Doctor Cooper _had _seen her at the Cheesecake Factory that night. She hadn't been imagining him looking at her.

"Bernadette never told me what happened between them," Amy said, softly. "I'm really a terrible friend for setting this up."

Doctor Cooper looked at her sideways, his brow furrowed. "I wouldn't think so, considering she stayed behind with him."

Amy exhaled deeply. "Still," she began, swallowing back tears, "if I hadn't texted Howard, he wouldn't have come and I would have had no reason to go to the bathroom to give them some privacy. Zack would've had no chance to corner me like he did."

Doctor Cooper turned around fast. "Zack? What do you mean _Zack?_" he spat. "Do you know that man?"

Amy stammered at the intensity of his reaction. "I-I-I just met him tonight," she stuttered.

"He has no way of knowing where you live or where you go to school?" Doctor Cooper spoke rapidly.

"I don't think so," Amy replied, uncertain. "Although, he did listen in on a conversation I had with Bernadette about work. He seemed interested. He said I sounded smart, talking about science."

Doctor Cooper huffed and rolled his eyes. He sat back against the backrest of the couch, looking up at the ceiling. He took a calming breath.

"I know you're not really capable right now, Miss Fowler," he said, turning to her, "but I need you to think hard now. Is there a chance this Zack knows you go to Caltech? Did you, or Miss Rostenkowski for that matter, mention it by name? Or could have derived it from the conversation?"

Amy glared at him. He acted as if she wasn't of sound mind at the moment. That was pushing it a little.

She thought back to the conversation. She had been drinking wine during it, and afterwards she had had a pretty strong cocktail. They had talked about the lab, Bernadette's absence that week, her work at the chemistry department… Most of the conversation had been about the work itself. Did either one of them mention the University by name? She couldn't be sure.

The chances that he had derived it from the conversation were slim to none. He didn't seem that bright.

"I don't think he could have derived it from the conversation," Amy said, "but I'm not sure one of us mentioned Caltech or not."

Doctor Cooper sighed deeply. "He appeared heavily intoxicated, we could hope for the best. There is a good chance he won't remember much of the evening," he reasoned. "If my experiences with my late father have taught me anything, it is that memory impairment is not an unusual occurrence with drunks like him."

Amy looked at him. That was the most personal thing he had said to her to date. "I'm sorry for your loss," she said, for lack anything else to say.

Doctor Cooper gave a dry laugh. "Thank you," he said. He stood up and walked back to the kitchenette with his mug.

"I should be going." He put his mug in the sink and turned back to her.

Amy regarded him from her spot on the couch. He looked so different in his Batman shirt. She swallowed thickly. _Her Dark Knight in shining armour. _

"I really can't thank you enough, Doctor Cooper," she spoke softly.

He looked away. "It's quite alright," he muttered. "Perhaps you can consider taking a self-defence class. The university provides them, I believe. I'm afraid there are more men like this Zack around in the greater Los Angeles area."

"I'll look into it," Amy answered, "or I could just be sure to have a brave, strong man around me at all times instead."

She had meant for it to sound like a joke, but it came out sounding more like a flirty request.

Doctor Cooper stared at her. She felt the heat from his stare through her entire body. She looked away awkwardly, probably beet red.

"Will you be okay alone tonight, Miss Fowler?" he ignored her comment. "Or should I contact Miss Rostenkowski and ask her to come over?"

Amy cleared her throat. "I'll be fine," she muttered.

She got up off the couch and walked over to the front door. Doctor Cooper's eyes followed her movements. Amy was suddenly very aware just how revealing the dress she wore was.

In an instant, Doctor Cooper was next to her, waiting for her to open the door for him.

Amy turned to him once more. It would be totally inappropriate to ask him to leave his t-shirt with her, wouldn't it?

Doctor Cooper was waiting on her. He remained still, looking down at her.

Mustering her courage, she quickly stood on tiptoe, grasped his shoulders and kissed his cheek. "Thank you again, Doctor Cooper," she whispered.

Lowering herself back on her heels, she looked at his face. His eyes were closed and he let out a deep breath through his nose.

His hands clasped her wrists on his shoulders, and gently lowered them. "I'm still waiting on you to send me your schedule, Miss Fowler," he said, his blue eyes nearly black as he looked at her.

Her heart fluttered in her chest. He must be able to feel the increase of her heartbeat on her wrists, Amy presumed. "I'll send it right away, sir."

"Alright," Doctor Cooper gave her a curt nod, "I hope you'll be able to sleep well tonight, in spite of everything that's happened."

The next thing happened so quickly, Amy thought she might have imagined it.

Doctor Cooper bent down swiftly, and brushed his lips against her cheek fleetingly. Amy's breath halted.

"Good night," Doctor Cooper said brusquely. He turned and was gone in a flash.

"Night," Amy whispered to the closing door.

* * *

Amy slept terribly that night. She woke up around 4 o'clock from a nightmare. Zack had been chasing her around through a bar that turned into a maze, and at every corner she turned, there he was again. His breath smelly, his eyes evil, his hands grabbing her…

She awoke panting and sweating as if she had been running around for real.

After drinking a glass of water, she settled back into bed and grabbed her phone from her nightstand. She had several unread messages.

_11:48 PM  
From: Bernadette  
Did the guys get you home safely? I hope you'll be able to sleep tonight, Ames. I'll come get you tomorrow for lunch. XOXO_

_00:11 AM  
From: Bernadette  
I'll tell you all about my talk with Howie as well. _

_00:13 AM  
From: Bernadette  
We're not back together, but it was nice to talk to him. Thank you for setting that up __J_

Amy smiled at her phone. The evening wasn't completely ruined then. There was another message left to read. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw who it was from.

_00:28 AM  
From: Dr Cooper  
Just a reminder to send me your schedule. _

Amy harrumphed. Apparently they went back to being student and teacher again. She had hoped something would change between them, especially after tonight.

She decided to humour him anyway, and opened her Google Calendar. She entered his e-mail address in the 'share with specific people' section and hit send.

It was only after she hit send that she realised that she hadn't checked the level of permission she had given him. She listed all of her appointments in her calendar. What was the default level of permission? Would he be able to see everything she had enlisted in there? Didn't she have an appointment at the gynaecologist next week?

It was the second time she proved to be noob to Doctor Cooper when it came to computer applications. _Shit. _

Figuring there was little to do about it now, Amy opened her Instagram and scrolled around her feed. Her phone buzzed in her hand a message appeared at the top of the screen.

_04:08 AM  
From: Dr Cooper  
I see you're unable to sleep. _

Her breathing quickened. He was awake as well. Why would he be up this early in the morning?

_04:09 AM  
To: Dr Cooper  
I could say the same for you._

He responded rapidly.

_04:09 AM  
From: Dr Cooper  
Your incoming e-mail woke me. _

Amy almost felt guilty. But then again, who didn't turn of his notifications at night?

_04:10 AM  
To: Dr Cooper  
Sorry. Turn off your notifications next time. _

She stared at the message. That was kind of harsh, especially considering his heroic actions the night before. She was contemplating writing another message, apologizing for this one, when he replied before she got a chance.

_04:10 AM  
From: Dr Cooper  
My students usually don't e-mail me in the middle of the night._

_04:10 AM  
From: Dr Cooper  
Are you alright? _

Amy's heart soared as she looked at the message. He must care about her on some level. Right? He could have just read her e-mail and left it at that. _He _was the one who texted her.

_04:11 AM  
To: Dr Cooper  
Not really. I had a nightmare. _

Amy took a deep breath, trying to calm her raging heart. She was texting her professor in the middle of the night. Her professor, who had come to her rescue, who had hugged her, who had kissed her cheek. Her stomach twisted as she waited for him to respond.

He didn't text her however.

Suddenly her phone buzzed with an incoming call.

_To be continued_

**A/N I cannot tell you enough how your continued support and responses to this story brighten my day. Thank you so much. **


	10. Conversations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 9**

**Conversations**

"Hello?" Amy asked uncertainly, holding the phone to her ear with shaking fingers.

"I figured I might as well call you," Doctor Cooper's voice sounded through the earpiece, "texting is arduous when lying in bed."

He had somewhat of a point, Amy figured. If you completely neglected the professional relationship between the two of them. She tried to picture him in bed, lying there, talking to her. What would he wear to bed? Pyjamas? Or just boxer shorts and a t-shirt? Amy wondered what kind of superhero was emblazed on his bed clothes.

She laid back further down in her bed. "I guess you're right."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Doctor Cooper asked, hesitantly.

Amy sighed. She didn't really. What she wanted was to burrow her head in Doctor Cooper's shirt again. The smell of fabric softener and talcum powder had been weirdly comforting.

"I dreamed I was being chased by Zack," she muttered anyway.

Doctor Cooper cleared his throat. "I was thinking, perhaps you should make sure you're not alone at the University the following days," he said. He was speaking very softly.

"I'm sorry?" she said, and turned the volume on her phone up fully. "Could you repeat that please?"

Doctor Cooper coughed. "I don't want to wake up Leonard, so I can't speak any louder than this. I said, perhaps you shouldn't be alone the following days."

Wake up Leonard? What did he mean, wake up Leonard? She decided to let that comment slide.

Amy couldn't help herself, and a adopted a suggestive tone as she responded.

"Are you making me an offer, Doctor Cooper?"

He didn't reply.

The silence between them stretched far too long. Amy berated herself. What had she done?

Doctor Cooper sighed deeply at the other end of the line. "I'd like to suggest you come by my office tomorrow afternoon for your first tutoring session, Miss Fowler," he ignored her comment completely, "my last class of the day ends at 2:00."

"I-I think I have something tomorrow afternoon," Amy stuttered.

"Yes, you have a class about genetically manipulated mammals given by Doctor Gablehouser, scheduled 'til 3:00. His classes always end early on Friday however, since he plays golf with President Siebert at 3:15," Doctor Cooper rebutted, "which gives us plenty of time to go over the Euler-Lagrange equation before the end of my workday at 5:00."

Doctor Cooper already knew her schedule better than she knew it herself. Did he have a photographic memory? It was almost creepy otherwise.

"I thought I wasn't ready for the Euler-Lagrange equation?" she asked.

"I assume you've been reading up on analytical mechanics this past week, Miss Fowler," Doctor Cooper spoke in the condescending tone she had gotten used to. "You mentioned your intention to continue my class after all."

Amy's stomach turned. She hadn't spent any time on physics the past week. Every time she had opened a physics book, her mind had drifted back to that afternoon in his office last Monday. After two failed attempts at studying, she had decided it would be better not to waste her time on it.

"You _have _been studying, haven't you?" Doctor Cooper pressed.

"Of course, I have," Amy lied. Feeling nervous already.

"I'm glad to hear it," Doctor Cooper said, "don't think I won't notice if you haven't."

Amy swallowed thickly. _Crap. _"I'll-I'll come to your office as soon as my class has ended."

"Good," Doctor Cooper replied.

They were both silent again. It wasn't that uncomfortable now. Amy pictured him once again, in his bed. She wondered if he spoke to more students like this, like he did with her. She hoped she was somewhat special to him. Especially after tonight.

She suddenly needed to tell him again, how grateful she was.

"Doctor Cooper?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm really glad it was Anything Can Happen Thursday tonight," she murmured.

She heard Doctor Cooper exhale at the other end of the line. "Good night, Miss Fowler."

"Night," she whispered. The line went dead.

Amy stared at her phone for at least an hour afterwards, sleep being the furthest thing from her mind.

* * *

Amy had trouble waking up, her lack of sleep caused her to be extremely late and cranky. She dressed quickly, figuring she could grab a cardigan on her way out. Only when she ran for her bus did she realise she had forgotten it. Autumn in California was by no means cold, but she felt exposed the entire day.

At least in the lab she could wear her trusted white lab coat.

"Knock, knock," Bernadette said from the doorway. Amy looked up. Was it lunchtime already?

"Hi," she greeted Bernadette.

"How are you doing, Amy?" she asked, her voice laced with a mixture of worry and pity. "You look pretty terrible. Did you sleep at all?"

Since Amy had already told her all about her crush on Doctor Cooper, she might as well tell her all about what happened between them in the last 24 hours. Something stopped Amy from spilling the beans directly, though. It seemed private, whatever had passed between them.

"I slept a little, but I woke up from a nightmare," Amy said instead, "I had trouble sleeping after that."

"But Leonard and Sheldon got you home alright? You never texted me back."

Amy blushed involuntarily at the mention of Doctor Cooper. She busied herself by pulling off her gloves and washing her hands, so she didn't have to look Bernadette in the eye as she responded.

"Yes, we shared a cab," she said, "Doctor Cooper made me a cup of tea and left." It wasn't a complete lie, Amy reasoned. She just omitted some details.

Bernadette smiled. "Ever the southern gentleman, isn't he?"

Amy hummed, desperate for a subject change. "So… Lunch then?"

* * *

Amy had never been to the cafeteria before, usually she just brought her own lunch from home and ate either between classes or during work. Bernadette wanted to treat her today, 'to cheer her up' she had said, so they ended up in line with other students and teachers, waiting their turn. They had just gotten to the front of the line, when Bernadette spoke to her.

"Soooo," Bernadette started, already too suggestive for Amy's taste, "what was that hug between you and _Doctor Cooper _all about yesterday?"

Amy dropped the ladle with mashed potatoes with a loud clang. "My God, Bernie!" she hissed, "please, not here. People could overhear us."

Bernadette gave her a look. "Fine, but you have to tell me later."

Both carrying loaded trays, they looked around for an empty table in the crowded cafeteria. "There's one in the back," Bernadette nudged her, and started to walk away.

Amy froze in her tracks. There was an empty table alright. They just had to walk past a table with people she didn't want to see right now. Figuring she would see Doctor Cooper that afternoon anyway, she might as well get it over with. Taking a deep breath, Amy followed Bernadette swiftly, hoping she could walk by them without them noticing her.

She had no such luck. Bernadette had stopped at the table to greet the men.

Amy came to a halt behind her, she gave them a small nod. All three men of last night were there. And another occupant, the Indian, who Amy knew had to be Rajesh Koothrappali.

"Hey Amy," Leonard said, "how are you today?"

"I'm alright, thank you," she smiled at him. Leonard gave her big smile in return. Doctor Cooper sat next to him. He cleared his throat loudly, his eyes burning into hers.

Amy felt her face flush, she quickly looked away from him.

It was Howard who broke the tension between them. "Why don't you gals join us?" he was looking at Bernadette hopefully.

Bernadette was smiling widely. "Actually, Amy and I wanted to talk about _you_, so maybe not."

Howard gaped at her, but Bernadette was already walking away from him. Amy had to suppress a grin. "Bye, I guess," she said, somewhat apologetically. She looked around the table once more, her eyes coming to rest on Doctor Cooper unintentionally.

He gave her a barely imperceptible nod. Amy felt the corners of her mouth lifting automatically in a small smile.

The other men around them were watching her. She could feel it. Quickly, she turned and followed Bernadette.

She had barely sat down, when Bernadette's high pitched voice screeched at her. "What the hell was that?"

Amy blushed fully now. "Will you shush it!"

Bernadette scoffed. "_Had a cup of tea_, my ass. Is that a new euphemism I'm not familiar with?" Amy looked down at her plate. She was thankful she wasn't wearing her cardigan now. She felt extremely warm.

"I swear, nothing happened," Amy said.

Bernadette at her disbelievingly. "Yeah, right. And I've been saving myself for marriage like a good Catholic girl," she said sarcastically. "You could cut the tension between the two of you with a knife."

Amy looked at Bernadette uncertainly. "Really?"

"Come on, Amy! He obviously didn't want you to even _say_ _hello_ to Leonard! Did something happen last night?" Bernadette seemed pretty sure of herself. In a way, Amy was relieved. If Bernadette noticed it too, she wasn't imagining it, was she?

"With Leonard?" Amy asked, "Not that I can think of. We talked in the car, about normal stuff. Doctor Cooper didn't say anything about it later."

Bernadette narrowed her eyes at her. She spoke very slowly. "When you said Sheldon made you a cup of tea, did you mean that it was just the two of you?"

Amy cleared her throat, and hastily took a gigantic bite of her lunch. She avoided Bernadette's eyes. After chewing way longer than necessary, Amy still had no idea how to respond.

"So," Amy said, pretending that Bernadette hadn't asked her an uncomfortable question at all, "I guess I should apologize for letting Howard know where we were last night."

"Way to avoid the subject, Amy," Bernadette glared at her, "but since you brought it up: that would have been a pretty shitty move, if it weren't for the outcome."

"Well?" Amy asked, eager to know about the conversation between them.

Bernadette sighed, almost dreamily. "You know, I should probably tell you about our history first, before you can even begin to understand the conversation of last night..."

"Will you be able to do so in ten minutes?" Amy asked, "my class starts in fifteen."

Bernadette laughed. "No, I will not. But you know what; we'll have a girls' night tonight, and I'll tell you everything."

Amy smiled. A girls' night. She had never had that when she was younger.

"Provided you tell me everything as well," Bernadette added, grinning mischievously.

* * *

Doctor Cooper had been right when he said that her class would end early. Amy wondered if he was ever wrong about something.

She walked down the southeast corridor at 2:30 already. That would give her two and a half hours with Doctor Cooper. One hundred and fifty minutes.

She didn't think she would survive.

The door to his office was open, and Amy knocked hesitantly.

"Come in," Doctor Cooper called out. He sounded annoyed. _Great_.

Leonard and Rajesh Koothrappali were in his office, three whiteboards filled with letters and numbers in front of them.

Doctor Cooper looked at her as she walked in. "Ah, Miss Fowler," he said brusquely. "I see Dr. Gablehauser left even earlier than usual today."

Both Leonard and Koothrappali turned around, the latter looking between the two of them as if he knew something Amy didn't. Amy flushed.

"Why, hello," his Indian accent was thick, "I do not believe we have met. My name is Rajesh Ramayan Koothrappali." He gave her a half-bow, and Amy worried she would react completely inappropriately. Should she curtsy?

Instead she held out her hand, "Amy Farrah Fowler," she said. Rajesh took her hand a shook it briefly.

"It's lovely to meet you, Amy," he said, sincerely. Amy smiled at him.

She looked around at the three men in front of her. Doctor Cooper was staring again. Leonard was smiling – no, smirking – at her.

"I ehm.. I could come back later? I have a feeling this is not a good time," Amy said, looking at Doctor Cooper questioningly.

"No, it's fine. Leonard and Koothrappali were just leaving," Doctor Cooper said bluntly.

"Fine," Leonard said, "but I still think you're wrong about the workings of the fluxcapacitor, Sheldon. It's obviously powered solely by the car going 88 miles per hour, not the 1.21 gigawatts as well. We'll finish the math tonight."

"I am never wrong, Leonard," Doctor Cooper said exasperatedly, "and tonight is Halo night."

Amy couldn't help but laugh. All three men turned and looked at her. "I'm sorry," Amy said, still laughing. "Are you seriously calculating the probability of the movie _Back to the Future _being scientifically correct?"

She was met with three identical blank looks. "Well, yes," Leonard said, while Rajesh muttered 'obviously'.

Amy guffawed. "My apologies. It's Friday afternoon, I guess it's permitted to goof off."

"Excuse me," Doctor Cooper said, sounding appalled she even suggested such a thing, "this is not goofing off. We're doing a piece on science in popular movies for Caltech Magazine."

"Okay then," Amy said, laughing still. Doctor Cooper didn't smile back. He turned around, and flipped the whiteboard over. He had already drawn up the Euler-Lagrange equation.

"Gentlemen," he nodded at Leonard and Rajesh, "if you'll please excuse us."

"Fine, we'll go," Leonard said, holding up his hands.

"Enjoy your _private lesson_ with Sheldon, Amy," Rajesh said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Leonard guffawed. Doctor Cooper looked angrily at their retreating backs.

"Please, don't mind them, Miss Fowler," he said tiredly, "it's been months since Doctor Koothrappali last had intercourse. Making lewd comments is all he can do at the moment."

Amy blushed furiously. "It's alright," she said, looking away. Doctor Cooper actually said the word _intercourse_ in her presence. How could such a clinical word cause her heartrate to quicken? She really was head over heels.

"Right," Doctor Cooper said, all business-like again, "let's get started, shall we?"

Amy nodded and joined him at the whiteboard.

Doctor Cooper glanced at her. "Why don't you start with telling what you have done the past days, Miss Fowler, so we can see where to start today's session."

Her stomach dropped. "I, ehm.. I read some articles on partial differential equations," she made up on the spot.

"Good, good," Doctor Cooper replied, looking at the board instead of her. "By whom? Polyanin and Zaitsev?"

"Erm.. y-yes," Amy stuttered. Doctor Cooper looked at her intently. Amy tried to hold his gaze, but couldn't. She looked away.

"Repeat their names to me, Miss Fowler," he muttered. He saw through her immediately.

She looked away from his intense gaze. "I-I can't," she admitted. She blushed profusely.

The silence between them was deafening.

"I don't tolerate my students lying to me, Miss Fowler," he said vehemently. Amy took a deep breath, preparing herself to apologize profusely, when Doctor Cooper spoke again.

"I don't need to discipline you now, do I?"

_To be continued_

**A/N Your reviews are the best. Thank you, thank you, thank you. **


	11. Intoxications

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 10**

**Intoxications**

Amy gawked at him. Her heartrate quickened immediately.

"Excuse me?" she whispered. She must have misheard him.

"Discipline you, Miss Fowler," he repeated. "You've lied to me multiple times in the last 24 hours."

He counted the alleged times out on his fingers as he recited them.

"_One_, this morning you told me that you had been studying physics the last week," he held out his index finger, "_two_, just now you said that you had read articles on partial differential equations, when you clearly haven't," he added his middle finger, "and lastly, you said to me that _Zack_ –" he spat out the name, "didn't hurt you last night, when there is a definite bruise on your upper arm."

He held out three fingers, and his eyes shifted to her arm.

Amy followed his eyes down to her arm: there was an oval shaped purple bruise there. She hadn't noticed. Her fingers grazed it softly. It stung.

Doctor Cooper was looking at her imploringly. "It makes me wonder what else you've been lying about, Miss Fowler," he muttered.

She looked back up at him. "Nothing, Doctor Cooper," she replied.

He held her gaze. "If I find you lying to me again, I will cease tutoring you," he spoke gravely.

Amy furrowed her brow. "Is that your way of _disciplining _me?" she asked, disbelieving and somewhat disappointed. His punishments in her dreams were more to her liking. She blushed at the thought of being bent over his desk, her bottom in the air, while he punished her for real.

Doctor Cooper looked at her questioningly. "There is no greater punishment then withholding proper education, Miss Fowler," he said, "without my help you will have no way of successfully finishing this minor. Think of what a disappointment you would have been to your uncle."

Amy recoiled. That comment felt like a slap in the face.

She flushed for a different reason now. "That was low," she muttered.

Doctor Cooper raised his eyebrow at her in question. "It isn't if it gets my point across."

Amy stared at him. He was so mean all of a sudden. And he acted so different to her now than he had last night. Or this morning. Was he deliberately trying to create some distance between them? She _had_ made some inappropriate comments. Perhaps this was his way of letting her know that she should stop propositioning him.

But he had kissed her cheek last night. Had he not meant to?

"Do I make myself clear?" Doctor Cooper asked.

"Yes, sir," Amy said. She could be distant as well, she figured. She looked at him defiantly.

"Very well," he said. "As you've probably seen already, I posted the grades for the Euler-Lagrange equation paper on the student portal this morning."

She hadn't.

"And while I was thoroughly unimpressed initially assessing of your paper, lucky for you I grade on a curve. Since multiple students did even worse than you, you managed to receive a D instead of an F on your paper," he was speaking robotically again, cool and unattached.

"Goody," Amy muttered sarcastically, a D was still a failing grade.

Doctor Cooper sighed in exasperation and looked at her beseechingly. "Miss Fowler," he said, "do you still wish to continue my class? Because frankly, this attitude of yours is going to be a problem."

Amy looked back at him. "I guess you bring out the best in me," she replied testily. "Sir," she added, sarcastically.

Doctor Cooper stared at her. Amy glared back. The silence between them stretched for a long time. Amy could feel her heart beat rapidly in her chest.

The air around them was charged with a strange kind of energy.

Doctor Cooper averted his gaze.

"Please see yourself out," he ordered.

Amy felt her heart constrict in her chest. _Fine_, she thought. It was probably for the best.

She turned around and left his office with her head held high.

* * *

Bernadette picked her up later that night. Amy had researched girls' nights and sleepovers on the internet, somewhat nervous for what was expected of her.

Figuring she should just go for the whole experience, she had put on yoga pants and an old oversized Buffy the Vampire Slayer t-shirt. She had been a big fan of the show when she was an insecure girl in high school. Something about watching a tough girl beat up the bad guys, made her feel like she could be strong as well.

And she needed it today.

The afternoon with Doctor Cooper had sort of wrecked her. Amy felt hurt when he had acted all distant and cruel with her. She wondered if it was the comment by Rajesh that made him act the way he had.

While she waited for Bernadette to pick her up, she had reread the text conversation with Doctor Cooper from that night.

_Are you alright? _He had asked. And then, he had called her. In the middle of the night.

She harrumphed. Well, screw him. From now on, she would just maintain a strictly professional relationship with him. She had expressed her gratitude for saving her from Zack multiple times already. She owed him nothing.

Amy climbed in the front seat of Bernadette's car, smiling at her widely. She carried a bag with two bottles of red wine and a clean pair of underpants. If the girls' night turned out the way the internet suggest, she might stay the night. She hoped she would.

"Hey Amy," Bernadette smiled, "you excited for tonight?"

"Yeah, I guess," Amy tried to sound cheerful. She would tell Bernadette everything later. Besides, she really wanted to know what had happened between her and Howard the night before.

Bernadette chatted to her about her day at work – the chemists had managed to unravel some of the mysteries of the drug they were developing – while the GPS on her phone told her where to turn.

Amy looked at the phone displaying Google maps. "You don't know the way back to your place?" she asked.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Bernadette said cheerfully, "we're going to Penny's. She texted me this afternoon that she desperately wanted to catch up about me and Howie. I told her I already had plans with you, but with you always saying you want to meet more people and Penny said you'd already met, it was kind of perfect! She seemed kind of curious about you and Sheldon as well."

Amy shifted in her seat uneasily. The last thing she wanted was to spend the evening with _Penny. _Something about her irked her, and she couldn't put her finger on it.

"You don't mind, do you?" Bernadette asked.

"No, it's fine," Amy said, lying through her teeth. "The more the merrier, I guess."

* * *

Another reason to dislike Penny was the apartment building she lived in. Amy was panting slightly as she climbed up yet _another_ flight of stairs. No wonder Penny looked as good as she did. Amy would have killer legs as well, if she had to work out like this every day.

"Come in girls!" Penny said happily. The bitch had the audacity to wear what Amy could only assume was a pyjama set for sexy times instead of sleeping. It was indecently short. Amy felt even more insecure about her own looks with such good-looking blonde girls around her.

"Amy, it's great to see you again!" Penny said, giving her a half-hug. _What a phoney, _Amy thought.

"You too! And thank you for having us," she replied – she was raised right after all.

"I love your shirt! Don't let Leonard see it though, he's always trying to make watch that show," Penny laughed.

"Why would Leonard see it?" Amy asked, confused.

"Oh, you don't know? He lives across the hall."

Amy's stomach bottomed out. Her thoughts going back to the conversation she had with Doctor Cooper that morning. _I don't want to wake up Leonard, so I can't speak any louder than this. _

Was Doctor Cooper in the apartment across the hall as well?

Amy turned to Bernadette accusingly. "Did you know this?"

"You mean that _Doctor Cooper _is a mere feet away from you now?" Bernadette gave her an awkward grin. "If I told you beforehand, you wouldn't have come."

"Damn right I wouldn't have!" Amy sat down on the couch with a sigh. "Good God, what if I run into him on the way out… He can't see me like this!"

Penny burst out laughing. "I hate to break it to you, honey, but Sheldon never looks at what people are wearing. I wouldn't worry."

Amy looked at her. "He is my teacher. I don't want to run into him on the weekend."

"Wait… What happened between the two of you?" Bernadette asked, clearly confused, "Yesterday you were hugging and _drinking tea_, and now, you don't want to see him?"

"What do you mean _drinking tea_? Is that something dirty?" Penny asked excitedly, opening a bottle of wine in the kitchen.

Amy gratefully accepted the glass of wine and took a big gulp. "It's exactly what it sounds like. Nothing happened."

"Then why are you suddenly like this?" Bernadette wondered, "I swear Penny, you should have seen Sheldon this afternoon. I've never seen him this possessive. It was kind of hot."

"Really?" Penny asked, looking at Amy questioningly.

Amy took another big gulp of her wine. "I thought we were going to talk about Howard?"

Both blondes gave her knowing looks.

"Alright, fine," Bernadette said. "So, the first thing you should know is that Howard still lives with his protective, Jewish mother…"

Half an hour later, Bernadette had told them all about their relationship. The rocky start, his magic tricks, his mother, his weird friendship with Rajesh. And then how Howard had cheated on her in World of Warcraft with a troll – who turned out to be a colleague – and when she had forgiven him, found out he hadn't been exactly truthful about his former sexual conquests. It had particularly stung Bernadette that he had sex with a girl at Comic Con, and hadn't mentioned that Rajesh was also part of that encounter.

Amy listened to Bernadette tell the entire story with her mouth hanging open. He was even slimier than she thought. She regretted texting him yesterday.

"So," Penny said, "what happened last night?"

They had already finished the second bottle of wine. Amy briefly wondered if Bernadette would drive her home, or if she would have to stay here after all.

"Well," Bernadette started, shooting Amy a look, "Howie showed up at the bar we were having drinks at, out of nowhere. Amy had conveniently gone to the bathroom…"

Penny shot Amy a smirk. "Classic move, I love it."

Maybe Penny wasn't so bad after all, Amy mused.

"Well, at first I was pretty pissed off he interrupted my evening, but then after the whole ordeal with Amy, we had chance to talk alone. It was nice."

"What do you mean, 'the whole ordeal with Amy'?" Penny asked confused, looking between the two of them.

Bernadette halted for a second, looking at Amy for permission to talk about it. Amy was more surprised that Penny _didn't _know what had happened. She was Leonard's girlfriend after all, hadn't he gone to her last night? Besides that, she had expressed interest in hearing about Amy and Doctor Cooper. What was that based on then? Something else?

A sudden thought crossed Amy's mind. _Penny had been there when she had spoken to Doctor Cooper the first time on the phone. _He had said her name. Was that why she was curious? _Or, _did he talk about her more often?

Amy cleared her throat. "There was a man, Zack, who I had spoken to before briefly… he tried to -," Amy started, but even talking about it caused her to relive the horrifying moments, she swallowed thickly, "well, I told him no, but he pushed me against the wall.."

Penny gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. "Oh my God!" she muttered.

"He didn't do anything," Amy quickly interjected, "Doctor Cooper was there, and he stopped him. He did some sort of karate-move on him, and then told him to leave."

Penny was looking at her open-mouthed. Amy felt her face flush again. Maybe it was the wine.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Penny said softly, "and you're so lucky Sheldon showed up when he did. He was probably doing his post-commute hand washing ritual."

All three of them were silent for a couple seconds.

"So, I left Bernadette and Howard to talk," Amy ended. "Doctor Cooper and Leonard took me home in a taxi."

Penny was shaking her head. "Unbelievable," she muttered, "I cannot _believe_ him. Leonard got home last night, jumped me, and fell asleep right afterwards. He didn't say word about all this."

She put down her glass of wine on the coffee table in front of her rather roughly, and liquid sloshed over it. Penny got up from the chair she sat in and marched over to the door.

"Where are you going?" Bernadette asked, surprised.

"I'm going over to my boyfriend's and ask him why he failed to mention all this last night!" Penny raised her voice, clearly aggravated.

"Wait!" Bernadette stopped her, "I'm not finished yet!"

Penny sat down with a deep sigh and crossed her arms. "Still, he's getting an earful later."

"Well, what did you talk about after we left?" Amy asked, finding it weird to refer to herself and Doctor Cooper (alright, and Leonard) as _we_.

"I was really upset when I found out about the threesome," Bernadette murmured, "even more since I thought he had been completely honest to me about everything. I didn't know if I could trust him again…"

Amy looked down at her wineglass while Bernadette continued to talk. Bernadette talking about lying and trusting in a relationship made her think. Doctor Cooper had overreacted about her white lies. Right? It wasn't as if there was anything between them. And what student _didn't _lie to her teacher when asked if she had studied or done her homework?

Not wanting to think too much about it, she took another big gulp of her wine.

"… so I was able to tell Howie that he had to regain my trust, if he ever wanted something to happen between us again. I almost went home with him last night," Bernadette finished. "I just miss him, you know."

Penny gave her a small smile. "I know you do, Bernie," she said, "and if it makes you feel any better; from what I hear, he hasn't been with anyone since you broke it off."

Bernadette gave her a watery smile. "Really?"

"Hey, I can't be sure now," Penny said, standing up again, unsteady on her feet, "apparently Leonard doesn't tell me everything either."

Before either Amy or Bernadette could stop her, Penny had marched out of the door and was banging on the door across the hall. Amy's stomach did a little jump as she heard Doctor Cooper answer. "What is it, Penny? You're interrupting Halo night."

"Oh, please, like you don't do that every Friday," she said, slurring slightly. "Leonard! I need a word with you!"

Amy stared after her in awe. She was feisty. Amy was beginning to like her more and more. Looking over at Bernadette, she gave her a small smile.

Penny hollered from across the hall.

"Bernie! Howard's here!"

Amy blinked and Bernadette had already gotten up and had practically run out of the apartment. "Hey!" Amy called after her, rising from the couch as well.

She too was a little wobbly on her legs. "Whoops," she muttered to herself. Looking down, she regained her balance as she walked unsteadily out of the front door.

She looked up and was met with the startled, piercing blue eyes of Doctor Cooper.

_To be continued_

**A/N Let me know your thoughts. **


	12. Temptations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 11**

**Temptations**

"Miss Fowler," he said, clearly surprised to see her. "What are y—"

He was cut off by Penny who pushed him aside roughly. She was dragging Leonard behind her, who stumbled over his feet.

"Don't expect him back anytime soon, Doctor Wackadoodle," she slurred, and slammed the door closed behind them. Leonard had about half a second to look at them apologetically beforehand.

Amy stared at the closed door. Her bag was in there. With her phone, her wallet, her clean underwear.

_Her house keys. _

"What just happened?" Amy whispered, more to herself than to Doctor Cooper.

Doctor Cooper rolled his eyes. "It would appear that Penny and Leonard will be engaging in coitus for the rest of the evening," he said tiredly. "Well, there goes my Halo night." He turned around and walked back into the apartment.

Amy stood alone in the hall, unsure of what to do with herself. She couldn't really go and interrupt Leonard and Penny now. But to follow Doctor Cooper into his home, without an invite? Taking a deep breath, she did just that. He had done the same thing yesterday after all.

Amy entered the apartment hesitantly. The sight that greeted her was one she preferred never to have seen.

Bernadette was in Howards lap on the couch. Their mouths fused together, Howards hands on her posterior, Bernadette's hair messy.

"Wolowitz!" Doctor Cooper exclaimed, horrified, "will you and Miss Rostenkowski get out of my spot _this instant_!"

Amy could only marvel at the little time it had taken them to engage in kissing this frantically.

The both of them pulled apart awkwardly. Bernadette had the decency to blush, Howard could only grin. "Sorry, Sheldon," Howard said, sounding anything but. "We'll get out of your hair."

Bernadette climbed off his lap, giggling and unsteady. Amy figured she must be pretty tipsy as well.

Howard pulled her towards him, and Amy felt strangely jealous. Here they were, happy and in love, when she stood close to the object of her affections, who had been nothing but mean to her that afternoon.

Together, they walked over to the door where Amy still stood. Well, not as much walked, they swayed more likely, since Howard kept kissing Bernadette's neck as he held her by her bottom. His hand was actually under her skirt, and Amy turned away awkwardly when she saw it.

Bernadette turned to Amy at the door. Her eyes were hazy. Amy wondered if she should let Bernadette leave with him, she _had_ expressed her desire for him, but still. She wasn't really of sound mind now.

But then again, she herself wasn't that sober either. And she really wouldn't mind spending time alone with Doctor Cooper. She wanted to give him a piece of her mind for dismissing her that afternoon.

Bernadette blinked at Amy owlishly. "Ames," she slurred, "I don't want to leave you here with Sh-Doctor Cooper…" she whispered way too loudly and Amy flushed immediately, "but I also _really, really _wanna—"

"Bernie," Amy stopped her, "just go. I'll be fine."

Howard threw her a grateful smile. "You're the best, Amy," he said. "Sheldon! Behave yourself now," he gave Doctor Cooper a knowing look.

Doctor Cooper stood still in the middle of the living room, regarding the entire scene with his mouth slightly open. Apparently it all went a little bit too quickly for his brilliant mind to understand. Amy giggled at his uncomprehending look.

It was only after Howard slammed the door shut behind him a little too loudly, that Doctor Cooper seemed to snap out of his reverie. He looked at her blankly. His eyes roved over her body quickly, taking in her outfit. Amy tugged at the bottom of her shirt, trying to make it longer somehow.

It was incredibly awkward.

Doctor Cooper cleared his throat, and mentioned toward the couch. "Take a seat, I'll call you a cab," he said, turning away from her towards the kitchen.

Amy looked at him. He wanted her out and he couldn't even be bothered to drive her himself. The nerve.

"And have the cab take me where?" she asked, crossing her arms. "My keys are at Penny's."

Doctor Cooper came to a halt at the refrigerator. "That is unfortunate."

Amy huffed and sat down on the couch. She tried to pull on her shirt as much as she could. The yoga pants she wore weren't see-through, but left pretty much nothing to the imagination. She had given him an eyeful already, but she still tried to preserve some of her modesty.

Doctor Cooper walked over to her and handed her a bottle of water. Amy looked up at him. "Thanks," she muttered. He simply nodded and took a seat next to her, in the same place Howard and Bernadette had just been full on making out. His spot, apparently.

Amy was quickly sobering up. She took a big swig of the water bottle.

Her eyes moved through the apartment. It was decorated quite nicely. There was a game paused on the TV, which was situated between two desks. She figured Doctor Cooper faced the TV at the best angle, she had some form of glare on the screen. There were white boards located all over the apartment. Amy recognized the fluxcapacitor from the _Back to the Future _franchise on one of them.

"Well," she said, when it seemed Doctor Cooper wouldn't start any conversation at all, "at least I'm not alone as per your suggestion."

He huffed. "I meant for you not to be alone at the university, Miss Fowler," he said tiredly, "there is still a chance he could have figured out where you go to school after all. What you do outside of school hours is of absolutely no concern of mine."

Amy stared at him. "I have a call log that suggests otherwise, Doctor Cooper," she snarled.

Doctor Cooper turned to her sharply. Amy looked at him, daring him to contradict her.

He didn't.

Amy suddenly realised they were seated closely on the couch. Had it been only a day since she had kissed his cheek? And he hers? It seemed much longer.

Doctor Cooper's eyes moved over her face, as if he was cataloguing her. Amy felt her blood rushing through her veins. She exhaled softy. _Was he moving closer to her? _

"Miss Fowler," he muttered.

Amy inhaled jerkily. Heat coursing through her.

"Yes?" she breathed. Her eyes shifted to his slightly parted lips.

Doctor Cooper stood up abruptly, turning his back to her.

"I'll get the bedding for the couch," he said bluntly and to no one in particular. "We have some extra toothbrushes in the cabinet in the bathroom. There's no use in waiting for Leonard to return from Penny's now. He'll be able to drive you home tomorrow."

Amy blinked at his back. Her heartrate was elevated. That afternoon in his office she had been a tad uncertain if he had been about to kiss her. But this time she was _at_ _least_ 90 % sure.

"Why would Leonard drive me?"

Doctor Cooper turned back around. "I don't drive," he said.

Amy regarded him with furrowed brow. "You can't drive?" she asked, unable to keep the mocking tone out of her voice.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You researched me quite thoroughly, Miss Fowler," he said smugly, "you must have figured out I was studying in Munich at the time of my sixteenth birthday. By the time I returned, I had more important things to occupy myself with."

Amy didn't buy it. His eye was twitching as he spoke. "You mean like playing videogames or researching science in movies?" she said sarcastically.

"If it weren't for my Christian upbringing, I would show you the door right now," his voice was raised and he glared at her, "I really don't care for your sass, Amy."

Amy gaped at him.

"_Miss_ _Fowler_," he corrected himself quickly, but it was too late. He was breathing deeply, as if to calm himself down.

Amy swallowed away the dryness in her mouth. He made a fair point. She was really behaving quite terribly. "I'm sorry," she said, meaning it. She paused and took a deep breath.

"Thank you for letting me stay here, Doctor Cooper."

He nodded gravely. "Come with me," he said, and turned towards a hall way at the other side of the apartment.

Amy walked behind him uncomfortably. She was a nervous wreck. What was happening between them? What had just happened in the kitchen?

She was about to spend the night at Doctor Cooper's apartment.

Doctor Cooper was all business once again. He gave her a toothbrush and left her in the bathroom to brush her teeth as he made up the couch. Amy stared at the periodic table on the shower curtain. This whole apartment was so incredibly geeky. She loved it.

She was drinking water from the faucet, when she heard a soft knock on the open door. She moved back upright, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She caught Doctor Cooper's eye in the mirror.

There was no way in hell that Doctor Cooper wouldn't have gotten a good look at her backside, bend over like that. He appeared flushed. Amy tried to convince herself that that could also be from exertion of making up the couch, instead of a physical reaction to her body.

"The couch is ready. Would you need something to sleep in?"

Amy turned around and blinked at him. She was dressed quite comfortably already. Surely he had seen that.

"I'll be fine," she said, blushing at the thought of wearing his clothes. "I'll just take of the pants and sleep in this shirt."

Doctor Cooper blanched. "I'd rather you don't," he said, "I don't want Leonard to see you in such a state of undress if he were to come home in the middle of the night. I'll go get you something."

Amy watched him go, thinking his reaction through. He was probably using Leonard as an excuse. Did he not want her in her underwear on the couch? Or did he want her wearing his clothes? Both thoughts excited her.

It gave her a new sense of self-confidence.

Doctor Cooper wanted something to happen between them just as much as she did. She was sure. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw Buffy staring back at her from her shirt. Buffy wouldn't back down from a challenge, and neither would she.

The door adjacent to the bathroom was open. Amy entered without knocking. Doctor Cooper stood by a dresser, he was going through a drawer.

"Could you get me something with Batman on it?" she asked, trying to sound coy.

Doctor Cooper startled and dropped whatever he was holding. "Why?"

Amy walked up to him, and peered over his shoulder. The drawer was organised impeccably. He was either incredibly good at folding, or he had some sort of method she wasn't familiar with.

"I like my Dark Knight," she said, hoping he understood her double entendre. He had worn a Batman shirt the night before after all.

Doctor Cooper looked at her sideways. "It's rude to enter a room without knocking, Miss Fowler."

Amy just hummed and moved a little closer to him. His hands were shaking a little when he pulled out a folded blue shirt. He put it on top of the dresser, where a pair of checkered pyjama pants already lay. He closed the drawer softly.

Amy turned so she faced him partly and leaned against the dresser, looking up at Doctor Cooper. He was looking at the pile of clothes on top of the dresser. His hands lay on it. Amy shifted closer, practically leaning against his arm. His hand grazed her side as she leaned over him, reaching out and grasping the shirt from the pile.

"Miss Fowler," he muttered. "Be careful."

Amy pressed her upper body into his arm further, on purpose. "With the shirt?" she asked, innocently. She was holding the shirt limply in her hand, waiting for him to make a move.

Doctor Cooper had his eyes closed and was breathing labouredly. "You're playing with fire, Miss Fowler," he hissed, "and you know it."

Her heart skipped a beat in her chest.

"What do you mean, _Sheldon_?" she provoked him.

He acted quickly. He moved into her, grasping the wrist that held the shirt with his right hand and her jaw with the other. Amy gasped as he pressed her firmly into the dresser with his lower body.

His face was incredibly close to her, their foreheads nearly touching. The hand on her face stroked her cheek almost delicately. Amy felt as if she would burst into flames any second. She breathed unsteadily.

"I think you know exactly what I mean," he whispered into her mouth, their lips a hair width apart, "_Amy._"

She couldn't suppress a soft moan. He chuckled softly in response.

Then he closed in on her.

_To be continued_

**A/N Due to all kinds of appointments the upcoming days, and an emotionally taxing day tomorrow, I won't be able to update for a while. **

**That is why I decided to leave you with the most intense chapter to date. I hope you like it as much as I liked writing it. Please let me know in the box below. Your reviews give me life. **


	13. Deprivations

**A/N I managed to update earlier than I expected. **

**I had to change the rating due to Doctor Cooper's dirty mouth. I hope you'll stick with me despite the rating change – or maybe you'll stay with me _because_ _of _the rating change. **

**Either way; thank you for your supportive and kind reviews. **

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 12**

**Deprivations**

_His face was incredibly close to her, their foreheads nearly touching. The hand on her face stroked her cheek almost delicately. Amy felt as if she would burst into flames any second. She breathed unsteadily. _

_"I think you know exactly what I mean," he whispered into her mouth, their lips a hair width apart, _"Amy."

_She couldn't suppress a soft moan. He chuckled softly in response. _

_Then he closed in on her. _

His lips brushed across hers, almost timidly. She didn't dare reciprocate. The tension between them was almost too much. Amy whimpered.

Apparently he took that a sign to continue. He pressed his mouth firmly against hers, molding his lips over hers _just right_. Tentatively, Amy kissed him back. She felt him exhale through his nose against her cheek. Amy was thankful for the dresser behind her, for she trembled uncontrollably.

He kept on kissing her. His lips devoured her, moving over her, nibbling, sucking. Amy moved with him. His lips were soft but firm as he kissed her over and over again. Amy moved her right hand up to his neck, pulling him closer still. Doctor Cooper groaned in response, the hand on her jaw moving into her hair. Amy felt his tongue sweep over her lips and she gladly opened her mouth for him.

His tongue met hers readily. Amy had never been kissed like this. With such desperation, with so much passion. The pent-up tension between them causing her to lose all control.

Doctor Cooper released her wrist, and clasped her hip with his hand instead. He grunted softly, and Amy stilled in surprise when she felt his hand move swiftly to her posterior and grasp her bottom firmly. He squeezed her, and his hips pressed into her.

"Oh!" Amy gasped, shocked at what she felt poking her abdomen, breaking the kiss unintentionally.

Doctor Cooper pulled away from her abruptly. He looked at her with wide eyes. He seemed shocked by his own actions. He moved away from her quickly, panting deeply. His back was to her. Amy tried to calm her breathing and her erratic heart.

"Miss Fowler," his voice wavered, "I'm terribly sorry. I shouldn't have…"

He trailed off. His words felt like a slap in the face. She swallowed away the dryness in her throat.

"I didn't mind," she whispered. Doctor Cooper froze in front of her. He turned around and looked at her incredulously.

"This isn't about you _minding_ something or not," he spat angrily. "This is about you being my student and this being completely inappropriate, not to mention a breach of my contract... I should have stopped _this_... whatever this is between us, way earlier."

The metaphorical slaps kept coming.

Amy looked at him defiantly. "So you admit that you've wanted something like this to happen between us for longer than just tonight?"

He gave her a look of derision. "That's beside the point, Miss Fowler."

"On the contrary, _Doctor Cooper,_" she countered, "that's exactly the point. Just admit that there's something between us."

He stared at her. His eyes narrowed, as if he was trying to figure her out.

"And what would you gain with that knowledge, hmm?" he was moving towards her again, "it won't change the fact that _this ends here._"

He spoke the last three words with great emphasis.

Amy glared at him. He had a point – _again_. But still, didn't she deserve to know if all this hadn't been her imagination? All those times they were alone had been filled with sexual tension. At least, according to her. It wasn't too much to ask if he had felt the same, was it?

"I just want you to be honest with me," she muttered.

Doctor Cooper scoffed at her and he moved steadily towards her.

"You want honesty? I'll give you honesty."

Amy had backed up as he approached her and she felt the dresser poking her in her back. Doctor Cooper was closing in on her again.

He spoke very softly and very slowly.

"Do you want me to tell you how I've wanted you since the first time I saw you in my class?"

Amy inhaled sharply. Her stomach tightened.

"Or how every time you _talked_ _back_ to me, I had to restrain myself from shutting you up the way I wanted to?"

Amy's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock.

"Yes," Doctor Cooper murmured, eyeing her mouth like it was some sort of delicious treat, "like that. I had half a mind to push to your knees and shutting you up in a very, _very_ unprofessional manner."

Amy's knees nearly gave out as she felt her body respond to his words. She gripped the dresser behind her with both hands just to keep upright.

"You kept provoking me, Miss Fowler, and you know it," Doctor Cooper continued in the same seductive tone, "Do you know how much self-control on my part it took, to not take you over my desk after you butchered up Newton's three laws of motion? Not to mention how you not-so-subtly presented your bosom to me beforehand."

Amy gasped. She was steadily getting more and more turned on. But Doctor Cooper seemed nowhere near finished talking.

"Or do you want to hear how I wanted to bash Zack's face in for touching what wasn't his?"

Amy trembled. She could have sworn he was going to say 'what was mine'. Doctor Cooper was staring at her so intensely, she had trouble maintaining eye contact.

He moved even closer, his breath on her ear now.

"Or do you want to know how I really wanted to discipline you this afternoon?"

His hands covered both her hands, his thumbs making barely sensible caresses on her wrists. His breath was hot on her ear. Amy had to bite her lip to keep from moaning.

"And you were asking for it, weren't you, _Amy_? With your semi-innocent act, and your improper comments?"

He pressed a kiss under her ear. "Saying you want me around at all times, supposedly to protect you from other men?" He nudged her ear with his nose, and moved up. His lips grazed her earlobe. Amy shivered.

"Or do you want to hear me say how _good_ your ass looks in these so-called pants?" he groaned softly in her ear, his hands enveloping her bottom as he spoke.

Amy choked on her breath. Doctor Cooper bit down softly on her earlobe. Liquid heat pooled between her legs. His hands kept caressing her bottom.

"Or do you want me to tell you how I wanted to rip them off you and throw you on my bed, proceeding to make you mine?"

Amy was panting now. She would be able to throw these pants out now anyway, never before had she been this turned on.

He moved from her neck to look her in the eye again.

"I'm trying my best not to succumb to my baser urges, but this first sweet taste of your mouth is making that _very hard_ indeed," he whispered and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips once more.

Doctor Cooper let go of her and took a step away from her.

"Is that enough honesty for you, Miss Fowler?"

Amy languidly opened her eyes. She exhaled shakenly. She felt hot all over. The wetness between her legs was almost unbearable. Her heart was still beating more than a hundred beats per minute.

Doctor Cooper was looking at her, his eyes nearly black. Amy willed herself not to look down, but maintain eye contact with him.

His honesty had been more than enough. She didn't think she would ever be able to look at him the same again.

Amy swallowed nervously. She couldn't seem to speak.

"This ends here," Doctor Cooper repeated. He swiftly turned and left her standing hot and bothered against his dresser.

_What had just happened? _

* * *

Doctor Cooper had holed up in the bathroom. Amy had taken a couple more calming breaths and grabbed the pyjama's from the dresser. She had taken a seat on the couch where Doctor Cooper had lain out a sheet, a blanket and a pillow. She unfolded the shirt he had gotten her and her breath caught in her throat.

It was another Batman t-shirt. Blue this time, with the name Batman emblazoned in yellow within a silhouette of the character itself.

Amy made sure she could hear the shower run, as she undressed completely and redressed in the makeshift sleep clothes. She carefully folded her damp panties between the yoga pants, put her bra on top of them, and covered the entire pile with her Buffy-shirt.

Amy lay on the couch staring the ceiling for what felt like hours. She couldn't be sure, since her phone was in her bag at Penny's.

The flannel of the pyjama pants against her naked body felt more stimulating than comforting. Especially when she thought about Doctor Cooper wearing them. And who was she kidding, she had been high strung for hours now. Amy figured she might as well deal with that.

_Maybe it would help her sleep, _she reasoned, as she slipped her hand underneath the waistband of the pants.

* * *

Amy woke up groggily. She put on her glasses and shuffled to the kitchen. The clock on the oven read 6:07. It was insanely early. She wondered what had woken her. She felt a faint headache coming up, probably to do with the bottle of wine she consumed the night before.

She grabbed a glass from one of the cabinets and filled it with water. She heard footsteps behind her and nearly dropped the glass in the sink.

Turning around she was faced with Doctor Cooper. He wore a pair of pyjamas with a matching robe. She was somewhat disappointed he didn't sleep in a somewhat more revealing outfit.

"Good morning," he greeted her stoically as if nothing had passed between them. He didn't look at her though.

"Morning," Amy mumbled back.

Doctor Cooper moved methodically through the kitchen, grabbing a bowl and a box of cereal. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a tank of milk. Amy watched him prepare his breakfast. He walked to the couch, put down the bowl of cereal on the coffee table and turned to the couch.

Apparently she had gotten enough sleep, since he moved the pillow, sheet and the blanket out of the way. Amy watched with raised eyebrows as he turned on the TV. She heard what she knew to be the opening credits of _Doctor Who._

Was he seriously watching television at this ungodly hour? With her in the same room no less.

She watched as he settled in on the couch, eating as he watched the Doctor fight the Daleks.

Amy cleared her throat. He looked up from the television. His eyes zeroed in on the shirt she was wearing. Suddenly realising she wasn't wearing a bra, Amy crossed her arms stiffly, hoping to conceal anything he might have seen.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I erm…" she started. She really didn't know what to say. Just looking at him brought back all the things he had said to her the night before. She averted her gaze awkwardly. "When do you expect Leonard back?"

Doctor Cooper was back to watching the television. "Leonard is prone to night terrors. That combined with Penny's tendency to snore, gives him an approximately 5.9 hours of sleep per night. Considering he left here around 10:15 last night, and an average coital encounter between the two of them lasting a laughable 21 minutes, I would have expected him back already."

Amy stared at him. "Right," she said slowly. "I'm going to make some coffee." She had just started the machine when the front door opened softly.

Leonard was wearing his clothes from last night and was carrying her purse.

"Good morning," he greeted them, grinning stupidly. Doctor Cooper presumably shot him a look, which caused the grin from Leonard's face to disappear.

"So, uh.. Amy," Leonard said, turning to her. He raised his eyebrows in surprise as he regarded her outfit. "Is this yours?"

Amy accepted the outstretched bag gratefully. "Thank you," she said. "Would you mind if I take a shower here?"

Leonard told her to go ahead, telling her where they kept the spare towels. Amy gave him another smile. She walked over to the end of the couch where the pile of her clothes lay and carried them with her bag to the bathroom. She felt Doctor Cooper's eyes on her the entire way to the bathroom.

* * *

If anyone had told Amy she'd be showering at Doctor Cooper's, she wouldn't have believed them. She had spent quite some time trying to determine which of the bottles of body wash was his, but none of them smelled like the combination of fabric softener and talcum powder.

She had dried off and pulled on the clean pair of panties. _Thank God she packed these. _

Just as she grabbed her yoga pants to put them on, she was startled by a knock on the door. She dropped them in surprise.

"Amy?" It was Leonard. "Are you almost ready? I could you drive you home in a couple minutes."

"Almost done!" she shouted, grasping the pants from the floor blindly. "I'll be right out!"

She dressed quickly and tried to comb through her hair with her fingers. She hastily grabbed her bag and left the bathroom without a backwards glance.

Doctor Cooper was still in his spot on the couch, the episode of Doctor Who not yet finished.

"Sheldon," Leonard said, as if talking to a toddler, "aren't you going to say goodbye to Amy?"

Amy blushed inadvertently. Doctor Cooper looked up at her, his face betraying nothing. "I'll see you in class on Monday, Miss Fowler," he said without any emotion.

Amy swallowed nervously. "Yes," she said, trying to keep her voice steady, "thank you for your hospitality."

Doctor Cooper stared at her with raised eyebrows. "You're welcome." She gave him a curt nod, and turned toward to the door.

Amy followed Leonard down the stairs.

"Did you sleep okay?" he asked, obviously trying to make polite conversation. Who knew what he had Doctor Cooper had discussed while she was in the shower.

"Not really," Amy answered truthfully. "It's still really early. I think I'll go back to bed later."

They drove in a somewhat uncomfortable silence.

"So, you work in experimental physics, right?" Amy asked.

"Y-y-yes," Leonard answered and Amy wondered if he always stuttered or if she made him nervous somehow.

"Maybe you could help me understand analytical mechanics sometime?" Amy asked, trying to sound casual.

Leonard paused. "That's more Sheldon's field of expertise… I thought he was helping you out with that?"

Amy kept her eyes on the road as she responded. "That's not really working out."

Leonard looked at her questioningly but didn't press further. "I don't teach, so I don't have a schedule to keep. I think I'll be able to tutor you sometime next week."

Amy sighed in relief. She still wanted to finish the minor – because of Uncle George, _not_ because she wanted to prove to Doctor Cooper she could do just fine without him.

"That would be great, thank you," she smiled at Leonard. "I'll be happy when this minor's done in five weeks," she elaborated, "it's a little too much for me."

"I'll be happy to help," Leonard said, sounding earnest.

After he dropped her off, Amy thanked him again and gave him her number. She stood in the elevator thinking everything through. She would keep her distance from Doctor Cooper and with Leonard's help, she would be able to finish the minor with a passing grade. Leonard had absolutely zero sex appeal, so there was no need to worry she would fall for _him_.

Amy had just thrown herself across her bed, when she heard her phone _ding_ with a notification.

Figuring it was probably Leonard texting her his number, she grabbed her phone and opened her messages.

It wasn't Leonard.

_07:21 AM_  
_From: Dr Cooper_  
_Thanks for the souvenir. _

Amy furrowed her brow. _Souvenir_? What souvenir?

Another message came through. A picture this time. Amy felt her heart beat fast as she opened it.

Obviously taken in the bathroom, it was a picture of his left hand. In it he held her dirty panties.

_To be continued_

**A/N I love your reviews, follows and favourites. Your support means the world to me. **


	14. Frustrations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 13**

**Frustrations**

Amy stared at the picture in shock. Her panties must have fallen out of her yoga pants when she had gotten dressed. She hadn't paid any attention when she left the bathroom either.

She couldn't stop looking at it. How Doctor Cooper held them casually in his hand. His fingers were enormous in comparison. Wasn't there a saying about big hands? She swallowed thickly.

Should she respond to this? And what would she say? Or just leave him on read?

She decided to leave him hanging. At least for now.

After drinking another glass of water and taking a pain killer for the head ache that was coming up, she climbed into her bed. It didn't take long for her to fall into a restless slumber.

* * *

The weekend she spent going over her reviewed Euler-Lagrange equation paper. Doctor Cooper had actually given her some helpful feedback and she hated him for it. She still hadn't replied to his message. It took her great effort not to. She caught herself going back to the picture in her gallery, looking at the way his hand held them. It gave her the chills.

His words seemed to play on a loop in her head. It had been extremely explicit and very stimulating. The way he spoke to her, seductive and almost predatory. She would get all hot and bothered again, just thinking about it. A couple of times she even contemplated quitting the class after all. Surely, she wouldn't be able to concentrate on his lectures anymore, not after she heard his voice say such _vulgar_ things to her.

That Sunday night she was dreading the next day. She had his class on Mondays. Going over the syllabus - without researching Doctor Cooper this time - Amy regarded the curriculum for the next five weeks.

At least she had heard of some of the things they would go over in class.

She was looking through the University catalogue, trying to see if she could find some published works on tomorrow's subject. Sadly, most of them were written by Doctor Cooper himself. Knowing how he received a notification when someone regarded his work, she decided against reading _those_.

She had found something on the subject of Hamiltonian mechanics by a certain B. Kripke, PhD when her phone buzzed with multiple incoming messages.

Bernadette had added her and presumably Penny to a group chat. Amy's heart soared. Never before had she been part of a group chat with girls. Girls that weren't related that is. After saving Penny's number, Amy pulled up the chat and read.

_Bernadette_  
_Hiiii…. So, no judgement, but I slept with Howie. _

_Penny_  
_Yeah, no shit. You know your bag is still here and so is your car? _

Amy giggled. Bernadette had obviously given in to temptation. She couldn't help but be a little jealous.

_Amy _  
_OMG Bernie, did you spend the entire weekend at his place having sex? I thought he lived with his mother! _

_Penny_  
_Ugh, gross! _

_Bernadette_  
_She's on a Weight Watchers cruise. We had the house to ourselves. _

She followed her message with some suggestive looking emoji's.

_Bernadette_  
_Soooo…. Ames, how was the sleep-over at Doctor Coopers? _

The amount of winky-face emoji's was unnecessarily high. Penny topped it with some eggplants and raindrops. Amy tried to look scandalized, but who was she kidding. How she had wanted to have done _something_ with Doctor Cooper's so-called 'eggplant'… She had spent quite some time the last day thinking how she had screwed everything up. If she had just been a little more forward, maybe something would have happened…

_Penny_  
_You know we can see that you've read these messages, right?_

Amy took a deep breath.

_Amy_  
_Ha ha, no eggplants for me. _

Amy decided not to mention anything else. Doctor Cooper had called kissing her 'a breach of his contract'. Would he get in trouble if anyone were to find out? It was probably best to keep this between them.

_Penny_  
_Aaww, man. I hoped smth happened! Not just for u, but him as well. It's been like a year since Ramona._

Amy looked at the text for quite a while. She swallowed away the bile in her throat. Who was this Ramona? And why did it sound familiar?

It wasn't as if it was any of her business what he did or who he did it with. It just hurt her somehow that there even was a 'Ramona'. Amy berated herself; what had she expected? That a good-looking, charismatic man such as Doctor Cooper would still be a virgin like her? He was over 30 after all.

_Bernadette_  
_God, I hated her. She was so skinny, ugh. _

_Penny_  
_She was pretty bitchy as well. I'm glad he got rid of her. _

Amy really didn't know how to respond to this conversation. She didn't want to imply that anything had happened between herself and Doctor Cooper, nor did she want to seem jealous of this skinny and bitchy Ramona. She decided to skip past the subject altogether.

_Amy_  
_So Bernie, are you back together now?_

_Bernadette_  
_He hasn't asked me anything yet. We'll see. _

* * *

Amy walked into class that Monday afternoon, taking her usual seat in front of the classroom next to Howard. She had decided that she was going to pretend that nothing had happened.

Howard looked at her happily. "Hey Amy," he was grinning.

"Hi Howard," she responded, smiling at him as well. She busied herself grabbing her notebook and her syllabus.

"I wanted to thank you again for setting that meeting up with Bernie at the bar, last Thursday," he said, "we're back together now, and I owe it to you."

Amy looked up in surprise. "You are?" she asked, confused.

"Yeah," Howard said, looking at her confused and continuing in a suggestive tone, "you might not know, but we spent the entire weekend tangled up in bed together…"

"No," Amy rebutted, "I do know that, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're back together now, does it?"

Howard opened his mouth to reply, when the classroom door swung open loudly. Doctor Cooper marched in, looking stoic as ever.

"Good afternoon, class," he said, not looking at anyone in particular as he practically slapped his bag on his desk.

"I expect every one of you has seen their results on the Euler-Lagrange equation paper. Unfortunately, I had to ask Miss Spencer and Mister Campbell to quit this class, since it was above their level of intelligence," Doctor Cooper continued and Amy looked at him in shock.

They were probably the ones who got an F on the curve he graded on. Amy couldn't help but wonder if he had favoured her somehow. She had regarded her work and, when she took all his comments in consideration, it had been pretty bad.

"We'll continue today's class discussing the differences between Hamiltonian mechanics and Lagrangian mechanics. Since all of you did.. _somewhat_ well on your Euler-Lagrange paper, you should be able to understand most of what I'm about to talk about," Doctor Cooper droned on. Amy couldn't be sure, but that had to be jab at her work.

_Ha! _She'd show him… Once she got all the necessary help from Leonard, that is.

All through class, Amy tried to catch his eye, but he seemed determined not to look at her at all. When he was wrapping everything up, Amy had decided she had had enough.

"Doctor Cooper," she called out while the other students were gathering their things and exiting the classroom, "can I have a word about my paper, please?"

Doctor Cooper had been arranging some papers on his desk. He halted and looked up at her questioningly. He blinked. "Certainly, Miss Fowler," he said, his voice betraying nothing.

Amy waited till the entire room was cleared. Howard looked at her suspiciously as she stayed behind in the classroom.

"Please close the door on your way out, Wolowitz," Doctor Cooper said, as if it was normal for a student to be alone with her professor behind closed doors. Amy felt her stomach lurch.

Howard looked from Amy to Sheldon with his eyebrows disappearing in his hairline. "Alright," he chuckled. "Use protection, Amy."

Amy gaped at him, turning beet red. Howard closed the door behind him soundlessly.

Doctor Cooper cleared his throat. There were red blotches in his neck. "What can I help you with, Miss Fowler?"

"I'd like my underwear back, _professor,_" Amy replied.

Doctor Cooper paused.

"I thought you want to _have a word about your paper_… I fail to see what your undergarments have to do with the Euler-Lagrange equation. Please enlighten me." Doctor Cooper's lip curled up in a sardonic grin.

Amy felt rage boil up inside her. She glared at him. "You know that's not what I wanted to talk about," she muttered.

Doctor Cooper raised his eyebrows in question. "Do I?" he asked, "I don't see what else we have to talk about, Miss Fowler."

"You seriously don't?" she sneered, crossing her arms.

"If you don't have any questions for me regarding your work, Miss Fowler, then I'd like to ask you to leave please," he spoke in a most professional manner.

Amy glared at him. "In that case, I'd like to go over my paper," she snapped, "sir." She added as an afterthought.

Doctor Cooper clearly hadn't expected this. He blinked. "Very well," he said.

They stood there, staring at each other. Each of them waiting for the other to make a move.

"Did you bring your reviewed paper with you, Miss Fowler?" he asked after what seemed like an eternity.

Amy stalled. She hadn't. "No, I didn't," she said, trying to sound confident, "but you must be able to consult a digital copy on that laptop of yours," she nodded toward the closed laptop in front of him.

Doctor Cooper laughed cruelly. "I don't keep a reviewed copy on the server, Miss Fowler," he jeered, "_You_ have the original, and there is a physical copy in the university archives. How did you propose to go over the paper without my remarks?" he spoke as if to a child.

Amy blushed.

"My apologies, Doctor Cooper," she said sarcastically, "I assumed someone with a brilliant mind like yours, would remember what he had to say about my paper."

She looked at him, the challenge in her eyes evident.

Doctor Cooper narrowed his eyes at her. "It would appear I wasn't clear to you this Friday," he muttered.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked, acting as innocent as possible.

Doctor Cooper was steadily walking towards her. "You're trying to provoke me again, Miss Fowler," he whispered, "I won't have it." His tone was dangerous. It caused a delicious chill to run through her body.

He came to a halt in front of her. "Now, tell me what it is you really want. Or do you _truly _want to go over your paper now?"

Amy gulped at the intensity with which he spoke.

"I-I,- - -" she started.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by a persistent buzzing coming from Amy's bag. Amy quickly looked away from Doctor Cooper's penetrating gaze and pulled her phone out of her bag.

"Hello?" she answered, shakenly.

"Amy!" It was Bernadette, she sounded psyched. "Come to the lab, quickly! The monkeys are here!" Amy could hear them screeching in the background.

"I-I'll be right there," she replied, hanging up.

Doctor Cooper stared at her. "Monkeys?" he asked. Apparently he had some sort of super-hearing.

Amy paused. "The Capuchins," she explained, "they were promised to me in the first week here. Now, I can finally start the nicotine addiction study."

Doctor Cooper didn't seem that interested. "Very well," he said, gathering his things as he walked towards the door of the classroom, "since you want to go over your paper, bring the reviewed copy with you and we'll discuss it."

He paused at the door.

"If I find you behaving this inappropriately again, I _will_ remove you from my class, Miss Fowler," he said with his back to her. He closed the door behind him with a loud bang.

Amy watched him go. He still hadn't given her her panties back.

* * *

Working with the monkeys was insane. They were worse than the average toddler having a temper tantrum.

Amy barely had time to even go out to eat, let alone _think_ about Doctor Cooper, she was too busy trying to keep the monkeys from either pulling out her hair or flinging each other's faeces around.

It took up so much of her time, she was startled when a text by an unknown number came through on Friday.

_Hi Amy, if you still want it: I'm available for a tutoring session this afternoon. Just come by my lab: southwest corridor, room 0.11 – Leonard_

She had completely forgotten about her request. Maybe she should take a step back from the monkeys/nicotine study and go to him later.

After a shower in the decontamination shower next door, Amy put on the spare t-shirt and pair of jogging pants she kept in her locker. The smell of smoke was penetrating her entire wardrobe, but extra deodorant and a chance of clothes she brought to work now every day helped a little.

Her hair was still slightly damp and therefore wavy. She tried to shake it out a little as she walked towards the southwest corridor.

Leonard was sitting at a large table with a print-out in front of him. He looked confused as he read it.

"Hey, Leonard," Amy greeted him.

He looked up and smiled. "Hey Amy, you made it. I was trying to prepare a bit, so I printed out the syllabus. Sheldon has chosen some pretty complicated stuff to teach, if you ask me. I'm not sure I even understand everything."

Amy felt her stomach sank. "But I thought you had a doctorate in physics?" she asked.

"_Experimental _physics," Leonard emphasized. "There is a pretty big difference. But not to worry, if I'll get stuck, I'll just ask for help!" He sounded happy with the solution. Amy wasn't.

"Who will you ask?" she asked timidly.

Leonard pondered for a moment. "Well, normally I would ask Sheldon but he's been an even bigger pain in the ass than usual the last couple of days. He isn't the only theoretical physicist here, you know. If worse comes to worst, I can always ask Kripke."

Amy recognized the name from her earlier research. She tried not to think too much about Doctor Cooper being a bigger pain than usual.

Together, they went over a lot of the basics for Hamiltonian mechanics. Soon, Amy found her earlier talent for physics again. It _had _been her second best subject in school after all.

So, it really had been because of Doctor Cooper that she had failed so badly.

She lost track of time again, working together with Leonard. She was writing an equation on one of his whiteboards, when there was a soft knock on the door, followed by a sneering voice.

"Do I have to tell Penny that you're entertaining unknown women in your lab outside of office hours, Leonard?"

Amy turned around slowly.

The grin disappeared quickly from Doctor Cooper's face. A scowl appeared instead.

"What is this?" he spat angrily, his eyes shooting fire.

Amy felt inexplicably guilty as she looked at him. _She owed him nothing_. Why did she feel like she had just betrayed him?

"Leonard?" Doctor Cooper turned to his roommate, his eyes beseeching him, asking for an explanation.

"Uh," Leonard mumbled. "I ehm… I should go." He practically ran out of the office.

Doctor Cooper watched him go in shock. He slammed the door shut behind Leonard's retreating form. Amy could hear him mumble something that sounded like 'coward' as he did so.

Doctor Cooper turned back around. His eyes swept over her form slowly. He walked towards her and looked at the equation she had written on the whiteboard. His eyes narrowed.

"What is this, Miss Fowler? I'd expected you to come by _my_ office this week for help on your physics work, but it seems you have replaced me. Should I inform Koothrappali you'll be asking him for private lessons next?" he came to a stop in front of her.

Amy tried to look self-assured. "I've actually been making great progress working with Leonard." She crossed her arms angrily.

Doctor Cooper scoffed.

He moved closer to her suddenly, and bent forward. Amy inhaled sharply in shock.

"This equation is filled with errors, Miss Fowler," he muttered.

Amy gaped at him. "No, it's not!" she exclaimed.

His hands grasped her hips firmly, and he turned her around swiftly. "See?" he asked, now that they were both facing the board. Amy felt her body respond to his proximity immediately. She tried to control her breathing. His hands still held her hips.

Amy looked at the board in front of her, distracting herself from his closeness behind her, trying to see any mistake she might have made.

She felt Doctor Cooper move even closer. His upper body in full contact with her back, his face right next to the side of hers. "You don't see it, do you, Miss Fowler?" he whispered.

Amy stood stock-still. She couldn't think. She couldn't speak. Not with him this close to her.

His hands moved from her hips to her arms, uncrossing them slowly. His hands grazed her breasts a little in the process. Amy gasped softly.

He held both her hands in his and moved them to her front. With their joint left hands, he indicated to the start of the equation on the top corner of the board. "Now, Miss Fowler, tell me…" he muttered in her ear, and his breath on her skin caused her heartrate to quicken once more.

"Yes?" Amy breathed. She leaned against him slightly, unable to support herself. She felt Doctor Cooper breathe in, before he answered.

"Tell me what's wrong about this."

It felt as if he wasn't talking about the equation anymore.

_To be continued_

**A/N: I can't thank you enough for your _awesome _reviews to my last chapter. I hope I didn't disappoint following that one – this is the longest chapter to date.  
There's more to come for Doctor Cooper and Amy, please stick with me.**

**As always; let me know what you think. **


	15. Educations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 14**

**Educations**

_He held both her hands in his and moved them to her front. With their joint left hands, he indicated to the start of the equation on the top corner of the board. "Now, Miss Fowler, tell me…" he muttered in her ear, and his breath on her skin caused her heartrate to quicken once more. _

_"Yes?" Amy breathed. She leaned against him slightly, unable to support herself. She felt Doctor Cooper breathe in, before he answered. _

_"Tell me what's wrong about this." _

_It felt as if he wasn't talking about the equation anymore. _

"Uhm…" Amy hesitated and cleared her throat awkwardly. Were they still talking about math?

She was going to pretend he _was _still referring to the equation in front of them. Was he really asking her what was wrong about the two of them? Because she really couldn't answer _that_.

She swallowed nervously. "For an equation to balance, both sides have to be equal. That is to say, to solve X, one needs to eliminate the other variables, until just one variable remains," she stuttered.

Doctor Cooper let go of her right hand and grasped her hip again.

"Very good, Miss Fowler," he muttered in her ear.

"Now," he spoke softly and indicated with their joint left hands to the top of the board, "what have you written on the left side of the equation?"

His other hand stroked across her belly softly. Amy stiffened and sucked in her stomach – the comments about his skinny ex resonating in her head. She stuttered as she answered.

"I've written _H, _the Hamiltonian, which is equal to the sum of kinetic and potential energy," she mumbled, unable to concentrate with his hand on her. His left hand had moved a little, and was now holding her wrist. Amy had reason to believe he was taking her pulse.

His right hand moved upwards swiftly. He halted just underneath her breasts.

"And in this equation, what is the function of _p_?" he asked, his fingers skimming over the edge of her bra.

"The function of _p_ is…" she started, lightheaded. But she gasped as his hand enveloped her left breast whole.

"Yes, Miss Fowler?" he whispered in her ear, as if he wasn't groping her.

"I-i-i-it's _T-T-T_," Amy stuttered.

He squeezed her breast in response. Amy trembled and fell back against him even more. Doctor Cooper didn't seem to mind. His hand moved over her breast determinedly, squeezing her, massaging her through the fabric of her t-shirt and bra.

"And what does _T _stand for in this equation?" he continued like he was lecturing her in his Monday afternoon class. He rubbed her nipple through her clothes. Amy bit her lip to keep from moaning.

"_T _stands for k-k-k- - - " she stopped abruptly when he let go of her wrist with his other hand, and pulled her hips close to his. She whimpered. He was practically holding her now. She could almost feel something pressing against her behind.

"_T _stands for?" he repeated, still lecturing, his breath on her ear causing her to squirm. What was happening?

"_Kinetic_ _energy_," she breathed out quickly. The hand on her hip squeezed in response.

His right hand let go of her breast and Amy held her breath. _That was the right answer, wasn't it? _This way of teaching really wasn't fair. She had a hard time concentrating as it was with him at least ten feet away from her, let alone with him pressed up against her backside and his hands all over her.

Both his hands were on her belly now. Amy exhaled shakenly.

"Very well," Doctor Cooper murmured, his hands moved in opposite directions. His left moved from her hip to her right breast, clasping it firmly. He wasted no time grasping her nipple through the layers of cloth. Amy moaned quietly. His right hand grazed her belly again, this time lower than ever before.

"And the _potential energy_?" he asked steadily. His hand was fiddling with the drawstring of her jogging pants.

Amy felt her face flush with heat. She tried to keep from panting. The actions of his left hand on her breast made her tremble with desire. Little shocks went through her body with each pull on her sensitive skin.

"W-wh-what?" she whispered. He had asked her something, she was almost certain. But his hand had loosened the drawstring enough, and his fingers were grazing the top of her panties now.

"If the Newtonian force of _p_ equals the function of _T_, which stands for _kinetic energy_," he summarized in her ear, while he simultaneously moved her feet further apart with his right foot. The momentum caused her to lose her balance, and she gripped the whiteboard in front of her with both hands.

"Then, there has to be a function for _potential energy_, as well. Tell me, Miss Fowler," Doctor Cooper finished, his fingers pinching her nipple now.

Amy yelped at the impact. She had given up trying not to pant long ago.

"_Po-po-potential_ energy…" Amy panted.

His hand slipped inside her panties. His fingers moving lower steadily. Amy mewled when he came into contact with the embarrassing amount of wetness there, his fingers slipping through it easily.

"_Jesus Christ_…" he hissed in her ear – losing his cover, the shock in his voice evident.

Amy flushed even more at his admission.

He had obviously done this before, Amy concluded with disdain. Slowly, his fingers moved over her, coating them with her lubrication. He grazed her clit with two fingers, teasingly.

Amy moaned at the touch, and instinctively grabbed his left arm with both hands, holding herself upright.

"_Potential energy_, Miss Fowler," he reminded her, back into character it seemed.

Amy was breathing deeply, trying to clear the cloud of lust in her head. "_Potential energy, _or _V, _equals the space coordinate _q…_" she muttered rapidly. He applied more pressure with his fingers now, and Amy moaned out loud.

"Very good, Miss Fowler," he spoke into her ear. Was he referring to her explanation of the maths? Or was he referring to how she responded to his ministrations?

He shifted her in his arms, holding her upright with his left arm around her ribcage. Amy gripped his forearm with both hands steadily. She felt lightheaded, the hand inside her pants causing her to lose control of her body, her thoughts a mess.

The fingers inside her panties moved lower still.

Amy felt him still his fingers at her opening for just a second. Then he pushed them inside her hard and fast.

Amy gasped. She winced slightly and stiffened in pain. She had been more turned on than she had ever been in her life, but the girth of both his fingers stretched her like she had never been before. It stung.

Doctor Cooper was panting in her ear as well. He had stopped moving immediately.

"Am I hurting you?" his voice faltered.

Amy swallowed nervously. "A little," she whispered. What must he think of her? A virgin, trying to seduce her teacher?

His mouth descended to her neck. He was pressing soft kisses to the skin there, and Amy relaxed in his arms a little. He removed his fingers from her slowly and moved them back up to touch her _there_.

"Ah!" Amy moaned, her fingers grasping his arm in a bruising grip.

He continued to touch her, alternating between firm strokes and soft touches. Amy was steadily losing her mind. Every time she felt somewhat close to reaching her peak, he changed his movements again.

Amy whimpered when he did it _again. _She felt Doctor Cooper exhale in mirth against her.

"Tell me what you want, Miss Fowler," he muttered, before taking her earlobe between his teeth and biting down softly.

Amy felt her face flush in shock and lust. As if she could ever tell him what she wanted. Wasn't it clear what she wanted? She was a trembling mess in his arms.

She groaned in response and increased her death grip on his arm.

"Is this what you want?" he asked, his fingers drawing firm circles across her clit. Sparks of pleasure coursed through her.

"Yes," Amy panted. She had closed her eyes, her head had fallen back against Doctor Cooper's shoulder.

His fingers moved lower again and Amy tensed in anticipation.

She opened her eyes and was met with Doctor Cooper's penetrating blue eyes as he looked down at her from his position behind her. His eyes were nearly black, his mouth slightly parted as he too was breathing deeply.

He held her gaze as he slowly inserted one finger inside her. Amy arched her back a little and bit her lip to keep from moaning.

"This good?" he asked gruffly.

It didn't hurt. The opposite actually.

Amy swallowed against the dryness in her throat. She nodded swiftly and her eyes fluttered closed when he started to move the finger inside her, pumping slowly.

Soon, she was panting and moving her hips in time with his hand.

He removed his finger from her and moved it upwards again, where he fingered her clit with two fingers. Amy gasped at the sensation. If he kept this up, she would not last much longer.

His fingers glided swiftly through the wetness, down, down. He pushed them both inside her very slowly. Amy inhaled shakenly.

"Too much?" Doctor Cooper asked quietly.

Amy whimpered in his arms, but pushed her hips down into his fingers. They slipped in deeper.

"Oh!" she moaned. She felt strangely full, the earlier pain forgotten.

Doctor Cooper groaned in her ear. "Fuck, you're tight…" he muttered. Amy's stomach swooped. Even more wetness gushed out of her. His fingers moving into her and retreating in a titillating rhythm slowly but steadily.

Amy moaned softly with each thrust of his fingers inside her. Her back was getting slick with sweat, she was rapidly approaching orgasm. If he would _just_ move his hand a little bit, to stimulate her where she wanted him…

"Are you a good student, Miss Fowler?" he demanded suddenly.

Amy opened her eyes, breathing sharply. "W-what?" she breathed.

Doctor Cooper pushed his fingers into her particularly roughly and Amy yelped. "Look at the board and tell me your mistake," he demanded. The palm of his hand pressed against her _just right_.

Amy blinked languidly and tried to focus on the board in front of her. She was barely able to focus on the equation in front of her, with his fingers still touching her so intimately.

Suddenly, she saw it. She had switched kinetic and potential energy. _That_ was why he had been pressing that part of the equation, she realised.

"I switched up _q _and _p…_" she mumbled.

"Yes," he murmured, sounding smug she had realised her mistake on her own.

The fingers inside her curled up and pressed down somewhere. The incredible feeling was instantaneous. Amy squealed loudly.

"Sssshh," Doctor Cooper shushed her, but didn't cease his movements. In fact, he only seemed to increase the pressure inside of her.

Amy was panting, her head lolling against Doctor Cooper's shoulder. She felt her whole body tingle. The feeling increased rapidly, her breath halted. She was on the precipice of something intense. She could feel her muscles clamping down on his fingers.

"You gonna come for your professor, Amy?" he muttered, and he grasped her face firmly and pulled her mouth towards his.

It was the use of her first name that pushed her over the edge.

She pulsated around his fingers, her blood rushing through her, the feeling of sweet relief washing over her in waves. His mouth covered hers just in time as he swallowed her cries of passion.

Amy trembled in his arms, the spasms continuing to wrack through her. She was soaring, flying high. He prolonged her release as long as possible, deftly pressing down on her most sensitive part with the palm of his hand while stimulating her from within at the same time.

Amy slowly came back down to earth. Doctor Cooper pulled away from her slightly, allowing her to catch her breath.

Amy kept her eyes closed as realisation kicked in rapidly. Doctor Cooper had just given her _a hand job _in Leonard's lab. The tension between them had been incredibly high again. But she had never thought he would do something like this…

Was he jealous of Leonard for working with her? Was he possessive? He _had _expressed his desires for her that Friday night in his bedroom. But he had been very firm as well. It would stop there.

Yet here he was with his hand still inside her pants.

His other hand still held her jaw. She felt his fingers press into her pulse point, feeling her heartbeat. Amy let out a quivering breath. Timidly, she opened her eyes and looked up into his nearly-black ones.

His eyes swept over her face, cataloguing her response it seemed. Amy licked her lips and watched his eyes follow the trail of her tongue.

She moved forward determinedly and pressed her mouth to his firmly. Doctor Cooper groaned into her mouth. He pressed his palm against her clit once more, and Amy whimpered. She was way too sensitive now. She grasped his forearm, and nudged him a little. He got the hint and slipped his fingers from inside her, before removing his hand from panties altogether.

Amy turned around in his arms, facing him. She grabbed his neck with both hands, and pulled him down towards her, opening her mouth for him, meeting his tongue halfway. He responded readily.

Finally, she was kissing him again. Had it been a week since the last time? She was determined not to startle him into stopping prematurely this time.

She had little experience going any further than kissing though, and she was unsure how to continue.

Perhaps he noticed, for he pulled away from her.

"Miss Fowler," he breathed.

Amy pulled back in shock. Het blood boiled with rage.

_Seriously_, was he back to calling her Miss Fowler? His right hand still glistened with her earlier arousal, for crying out loud!

She had had enough of this. His inconsistent behaviour. It made her incredibly insecure.

She pushed him away fully, breathing deeply. She looked away from his eyes and pulled her pants back into place, tightening the drawstring and pulling down her t-shirt.

Amy crossed her arms underneath her breasts, and glanced at him. He had taken out a bottle of Purell and was rubbing it over his fingers and hands. The smell of ethanol in the air was strong.

She glared at him angrily.

Apparently he felt her eyes on him, because he looked up and regarded her blankly. _Did he not realise he couldn't play with her like this? _

Amy huffed angrily. Despite her earlier orgasm, she was really pissed off now.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "What is it, Miss Fowler?" he spoke lowly.

She looked at him incredulously. "Oh, nothing, _Doctor Cooper_," she answered sarcastically.

"I just think it's - -" she started, raising her voice, but clamped her lips closed when the door to the lab opened cautiously.

She kept staring at Doctor Cooper.

Leonard poked his head inside. "Hey guys…" he said, hesitantly. "I really have to leave now, if I want to make it to my date with Penny. So if you want to ride with me, Sheldon.."

Doctor Cooper turned only his head as he answered. "I'll be right out, Leonard."

Leonard nodded, and pulled the door closed once more.

Amy looked at Doctor Cooper. Was he going to say something about this whole ordeal? He had been very eloquent a week ago. He stood there with his eyes closed, and was breathing deeply in a slow rhythm. It was almost as if he was meditating.

Amy regarded him quizzically, until she noticed the prominent bulge at the front of his pants.

She stifled her gasp with her hand a little too late. His eyes shot open. He looked her with big eyes, piercing through her once again.

"Perhaps you should leave now, Miss Fowler," he started, then gestured to his pants, "your presence isn't making it easier for me to get rid of this… _situation_."

_To be continued_

**A/N Writing this chapter was incredibly fun, but also very difficult because I really wanted to portray the tension between them (and Sheldon's jealousy!) coming to a breaking point. **

**I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know. **


	16. Confirmations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 15**

**Confirmations**

_ "Perhaps you should leave now, Miss Fowler," he started, then gestured to his pants, "your presence isn't making it easier for me to get rid of this… _situation_." _

Amy felt herself blush and she awkwardly looked away. "Right," she mumbled.

She walked past Doctor Cooper quickly and grabbed her bag from the table. She turned around once she reached the door. He still had his back to her. "Uhm.. bye," she muttered, and immediately rolled her eyes at herself. Could she be making this situation any more awkward?

Doctor Cooper didn't respond. Perhaps he was meditating again? Amy quietly left the lab, hoping she wouldn't run into Leonard on the way out.

* * *

Amy pulled up the group chat with Bernadette and Penny after she arrived home.

_Amy  
I need a drink and to get something off my chest. Who's available? _

Penny was typing. Amy looked at her phone impatiently when she suddenly realised that Penny wouldn't be able to meet up at all; she had a date with Leonard. Amy gulped. Maybe she didn't need to tell her after all; chances were that Leonard had informed her already.

_Penny  
Is this about you getting private lessons from MY boyfriend? LOL. I don't mind. _

_Amy  
Haha.. No, I had an encounter with Dr Cooper just now…_

_Penny  
Oooooohhh! An encounter :wink: _

Amy chuckled. She had expected Penny to respond rapidly after just this titbit of information, but she was suspiciously silent.

Instead of waiting on Penny to reply, Amy gathered up her laundry. Almost all her clothes smelled of smoke. The first step in her addiction programme was complete; the capuchins were addicted to nicotine alright. If they had been able to, Amy would have preferred to get them addicted to some sort of e-cigarette. At least that way, her clothes wouldn't smell this bad.

She loaded up the washing machine in the laundry room and walked back to her studio.

She had a lot of new messages in the group chat. It started with Bernadette saying she wasn't able to meet up, because she had plans with her mother. Then, it started.

_Penny  
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG _

_Penny  
AMY! Explain yourself! What happened?! _

_Penny  
You might as well tell us, cuz Leonard told me everything already_

_Bernadette  
Ohhhh, what happened?_

_Penny  
Leonard said Sheldon was acting VERY strange this afternoon_

_Bernadette  
That says nothing. He's always strange _

_Penny  
True. But even weirder than usual_

_Bernadette  
Amy! Speak up!_

_Penny  
Yeah, Amy, speak up!_

_Penny  
Perhaps she's busy thinking of her "professor" _

_Bernadette  
Hehe…_

_Penny  
Leonard says he's sure you guys had sex in his lab_

_Bernadette  
OH MY GODDDDDD_

_Penny  
What a dog, amirite? _

_Bernadette  
Wowie, Doctor Cooper... Hehe. _

Amy stared at her phone, blushing furiously. This was taking a turn for the worse. If she didn't correct them rapidly, who knew what would happen with this preposterous rumour? She really had to put a stop to this. And quickly.

She opened a different text chain and took a deep calming breath first. Then she typed quickly.

_7:17 PM  
To: Dr Cooper  
Apparently Leonard is under the assumption that we had sexual intercourse in his lab. Please set the record straight, I have a reputation to uphold. _

There. That settled it. Then, she went back to her chat with the girls and typed quickly.

_Amy  
Noooo! We didn't have sex. Omg, I won't be able to look at Leonard now! _

_Bernadette  
Well… smth must have happened… why else would he think that?_

Amy swallowed nervously. Should she tell them? She _had_ already said that she needed to talk to them about something. Why delay the inevitable? She should be able to tell them this, right? They wouldn't rat either of them out to HR.

_Amy  
We didn't have sex. We may have made out a little. _

She was omitting the truth. But they didn't know about the other stuff that had happened a week ago. Perhaps this would keep them off her back a little.

Amy watched the notifications on her phone; both of them were typing. She smiled to herself. Never would she have expected that she would develop such friendships in California.

Her phone buzzed with an incoming call. She nearly dropped it when she saw the name across her screen.

_Incoming call  
Dr Cooper_

Amy stared at her phone with her heart beating fast. Why was he calling her? She couldn't answer this, could she? She bit her lip as it continued to buzz in her palm. She watched it go to voicemail.

She went back to her group chat, her heart still beating fast. The girls were going berserk. The stream of emoji's was never-ending, alternated with exclamations as 'OMG' and 'Aaaaaaahh' and 'Tell us more!'.

Amy was about to respond, when another message came through.

_7:34 PM_  
_From: Dr Cooper_  
_I can see you're online, Ms Fowler. Answer your phone. _

Amy gulped. She should have thought this through. Her phone buzzed again.

"Hello?" she answered, figuring she couldn't really _not _answer him.

"Miss Fowler," he started all business-like, as if he hadn't spent a part of his afternoon with his hand down her pants, "I'll have you know I didn't speak to Leonard about anything that happened between the two of us this afternoon."

He was silent, like this settled it. Amy snorted. "Well, he told Penny that he thinks we had sex in his lab," Amy snarled. She blushed at her own language.

"I see," Doctor Cooper said, after a short pause. "I'll speak to him, then."

"Thank you," Amy mumbled. This had to be the most awkward telephone conversation she had ever had.

"Will you be coming to my office next week to review your paper? I was _not _amused to see you working with Doctor Hofstadter this afternoon," he spoke icily.

'Not amused'_, really? _That was one way to put it. So, it had been jealously that caused him to behave the way he did. Amy was pissed off again. He had no right to act this jealous of possessive of her. She was still mad that he had gone back to calling her 'Miss Fowler' after touching her like he had.

It was time for payback.

"Were you?" Amy replied, adopting a most surprised tone.

He was silent at the other end of the line.

Amy continued, speaking innocently. "But, I thought you were friends with Doctor Hofstadter? Why would it be a problem for me to work with him?"

The sickeningly sweet tone she adopted sounded almost like Bernadette. She had to suppress a giggle when she thought what Doctor Cooper's face must look now.

"Stop it, Miss Fowler," he hissed. Oh, she had pissed him off right now. Good.

"Stop what?" Amy asked, deliberately clueless.

"Working with Doctor Hofstadter won't help you make the required progress to finish this program with a passing grade, Miss Fowler," he spoke coolly. "It's a complete waste of time."

"I don't see why he won't be able to help me," Amy rebutted. "He is a physicist."

She heard Doctor Cooper huff loudly. "He's an _experimental_ physicist, Miss Fowler," he said, like that explained everything.

"So?" Amy asked, "what difference does it make?"

"What difference does it - -" Doctor Cooper repeated, incredulously. "Doctor Hofstadter is one of my closest friends, but his intelligence on the subject of theoretical physics is not up to par. He didn't even notice you switched the value of _p _and _q _in your Hamiltonian equation for crying out loud. Whereas _I _pointed it out to you immediately."

He finished with an air of superiority. It pissed Amy off immensely.

"_Pointing it out to me_, is that what you're calling it?" she sneered, laughing slightly in disbelief.

"No, I prefer to call it _teaching you a lesson,_ Miss Fowler," Doctor Cooper replied darkly.

Amy inhaled sharply at his tone of voice. It was almost seductive. She swallowed thickly, trying to think of a witty response. Her mind however, was completely blank.

"And I like to think I was quite successful, wasn't I?" he continued. He wasn't talking about the equation.

Heat coursed through her once more.

"Yes, sir," Amy mumbled.

Doctor Cooper hummed. "Good," he whispered. "I'll be expecting you in my office next week, to go over your paper, Miss Fowler. If you fail to show, there will be consequences."

The dial tone sounded in her ear. Amy sat staring at her phone in shock for minutes after he hung up.

* * *

Amy spent her Saturday going over the neurobiological theories about addiction. She didn't bother looking at any physics. She had come to California to finish her last year in biology. The physics minor was just a some part of her studies, and it was eating up all of her time right now.

Well, not so much the physics itself, but more her professor.

Penny had texted her, asking to meet her in a bar for drinks. She 'wanted to hear everything about this make-out session'.

Amy couldn't really say no. She was a little nervous though, she hadn't met with Penny one-on-one before. There was also the fact that she was really chummy with Doctor Cooper. It almost felt as if she had to get in her good graces.

Pulling a dress from her closet, Amy strapped on a pair of heels and called an Uber.

_Here goes nothing. _

Penny greeted her with the same excitement as the last time. It was infectious. Amy sat with her at a high table, and accepted the cocktail Penny had chosen for her.

It was after five minutes that Penny turned to her, grinning mischievously. "Ok, I can't take it anymore. What happened with you and Sheldon yesterday?"

Amy blushed and took another sip of her drink. "I don't really feel comfortable discussing this with you," she muttered, looking at Penny apologetically. "The two of you seem really close."

Penny's face fell. "We are really close," she said, "I've lived across of him for years now. He's one of my best friends. I just want what's best for him, you know. He can be really socially awkward. He's just really clueless sometimes with women." Penny smiled.

Amy regarded her strangely. Were they talking about the same person? Doctor Cooper seemed anything but awkward and clueless around her… She blinked at Penny.

"He is?" she asked, confused.

Penny laughed. "When I met him, he was unable to understand sarcasm and stuff. He's gotten loads better though. I was just so excited the first time he mentioned you," Penny said, her eyes sparkling, "after he broke it off with that bitch Ramona, he hasn't really dated or expressed interest in anyone… I probably shouldn't be telling you this…"

Amy's interest was piqued. "When did he mention me?" she asked, curious.

Penny contemplated her answer. "Gosh, I don't remember the first time. You and Bernie had had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, I guess?" Penny looked deep in thought, "and after that, he was talking to you on the phone on a Friday night."

Amy felt her stomach flutter. She remembered that conversation all too well.

"And now you're making out in Leonard's office," Penny finished. "God, it's so hot. I remember the first couple of weeks with Leonard. We couldn't keep our hands of each other. Don't get me wrong, I love Leonard and all, but sometimes I long back to those first moments of a relationship. It's so exciting."

Penny sighed, reminiscing the olden days apparently.

Amy could only stare. _Relationship? _

"I'm not in a relationship with Doctor Cooper," she corrected her quickly. "He's my professor, that's all."

Penny guffawed. "Yeah, right. You make out with all your professors, then?"

Amy choose not to respond and downed her glass in one gulp. "More drinks?"

Penny grinned at her.

* * *

The following Monday came rather quickly after a Sunday spent hungover on the couch. Amy looked through her closet. Would it be completely or just a little bit inappropriate to dress a little suggestively, since she was seeing Doctor Cooper that afternoon? He did some pretty inappropriate things to her as well.

Bernadette walked into the lab to pick her up for lunch. The monkeys were busy smoking behind a glass window, lessening the amount of second-hand smoke a lot.

"Oh, Amy, I love your skirt!" Bernadette greeted her, "very retro." Amy smiled at her, and smoothed down the fabric. The plaited tartan reached her mid-thighs.

"Thanks," she smiled.

"You know, I have a similar skirt from when I went to Catholic school. Howie always wanted me to wear it in bed," Bernadette laughed and then stopped abruptly, "don't you have Sheldon's class this afternoon?"

Amy looked away from her suspicious gaze shyly. "Maybe," she muttered.

Bernadette smirked at her. "He won't be able to keep his eyes off you."

* * *

Turns out, he _was_ able to keep his eyes off her. Amy walked into his class later than she wanted to, and hastily sat down next to Howard. Doctor Cooper didn't bother looking her way as he drew on the whiteboard at the front of the class.

Howard eyed her up and down. "Helloooo Amy," he grinned. "Loving the schoolgirl-vibe. I'm always trying to get Bernie to wear something similar to bed…"

Amy blushed. Maybe this whole outfit was a bit too much after all. It wasn't as if she could change her clothes now.

Doctor Cooper turned out, addressing his students. "Good afternoon, class," he said, sounding bored. "We'll go over the Hamiltonian equation once more today. It will be part of your final paper after all. This class will end in just a few weeks' time, so I expect all of you to be on your best behaviour."

Amy stared at him unabashedly. It was different looking at him after what happened between them. Now that she knew of what he was capable of – this brutish, possessive side – she squirmed in her seat just looking at him work.

She was losing focus rapidly. It was especially stimulating to watch his hands move across the whiteboard. That hand had touched her.

"Who can tell me the difference between the kinetic and potential energy? Miss Fowler, perhaps?" his voice sounded far away. Amy blinked at the sound of her name. She looked up at him. She hadn't listened to a word he'd said.

"I'm sorry?" she blushed under his scrutiny.

He seemed disappointed. "See me after class, Miss Fowler," he said, raising an eyebrow at her, then he addressed the rest of the class, "is there anyone who _can_ tell me the difference between kinetic and potential energy?"

Amy wished the ground would swallow her whole. Of course she knew the difference between them. That had been the mistake she made in her equation last Friday. _Why _hadn't she just paid attention to the lecture in front of her?

Time moved slowly after that. Amy was filled with nervous tension. Of course Doctor Cooper would be disappointed with her. The anticipation was killing her. Should she come clean and confess she had been daydreaming about him? Or should she play the fool and pretend she still didn't know the differences between the two forms of energy?

Perhaps he would _teach her a lesson _again?

Amy shifted uneasily in her seat.

The class finally ended and everyone cleared out. Amy remained seated. Howard didn't even bother making a suggestive comment this time. Amy suspected he and Bernadette had discussed them at length.

The final student left and Doctor Cooper closed the door.

"Would you care to explain why you weren't able to answer my question, Miss Fowler?" he said as he turned towards her.

Amy shrugged and crossed her arms. "I wasn't paying attention to your lecture," she said, "I already know everything you were explaining anyway."

Doctor Cooper raised his eyebrows at her. "Do you now?"

"Yes," Amy replied, trying to appear unaffected and cool.

"This attitude of yours is starting to get on my nerves, Miss Fowler," Doctor Cooper said menacingly. "I believe I've warned you before about what would happen if you behaved like this again."

_To be continued_

**A/N I've kept you waiting longer than I would have liked. I hope this makes up for it. Next instalment will be here much quicker. **

**As always; let me know what you think. **


	17. Reciprocations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 16**

**Reciprocations**

_ "This attitude of yours is starting to get on my nerves, Miss Fowler," Doctor Cooper said menacingly. "I believe I've warned you before about what would happen if you behaved like this again." _

Amy swallowed thickly. "Behaved like what exactly?" she countered. "You only threatened to throw me out of your class if I behaved inappropriately. I don't see how failing to answer a question can be considered _inappropriate behaviour_?"

Doctor Cooper narrowed his eyes at her.

_What the hell was she doing? _She was deliberately riling him up. After he had confessed all the unspeakable things he wanted to do to her, her mind had been filled with images of him doing _just_ that. Not to mention the things he had done to her in Leonard's lab just days ago.

Amy trembled slightly. _What had he said again about shutting her up when she talked back to him? _

Doctor Cooper advanced towards her. "Miss Fowler," he started, speaking haughtily, "why don't we just skip this terrible act you seem so keen on playing? It would save the both of us some valuable time. I would be able to spend my time doing something worthwhile, instead of wasting it by playing along with this charade of yours."

Amy stared at him. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest.

Doctor Cooper raised an eyebrow at her.

Amy figured she couldn't back down _now. _He was almost admitting something again, like he had last time. She wanted him to admit it to her. That this wasn't about 'teaching lessons' or Leonard not being capable of teaching her… She wanted to hear him say that he wanted her. A thrill went through her at the thought. "I don't know what you mean, Doctor Cooper," she said, continuing the clueless act.

"Oh, you don't?" Doctor Cooper repeated incredulously.

Amy blushed involuntarily, but deliberately kept her face as blank as possible. Doctor Cooper walked over to her, calculated and slowly. He bent over her desk, holding the sides with both hands, caging her in. He was practically in her face right now. His eyes moved over her again.

"You mean to tell me, Miss Fowler," he muttered, "that you _didn't_ wear this schoolgirl getup to get a rise out of me?"

Amy swallowed against the sudden dryness in her mouth. He saw right through her.

"I don't think it's appropriate for you to comment on the way I dress, professor," she countered, raising her eyebrows at him. _Checkmate. _

Doctor Cooper's eyes narrowed at her. Then the corners of his lips curled up in what could only be defined as a smirk.

_Uh oh._

"I think we're well past behaving appropriately, don't you agree?" he spoke softly, as his eyes roved over her face. "Or do you consider yourself well-behaved now, Miss Fowler? You practically threw yourself at me when you cornered me in my bedroom."

Amy gaped back up at him. _Was he serious? _How dare he say something like this after what happened in the lab?

He was towering over her in this position and it was putting her at a disadvantage. She needed the upper-hand. She pushed her chair back from the desk, and slowly rose to her feet in front of him. His eyes followed her ascend, but he remained crouched over the desk.

They were able to look each other in the eyes like this.

The silence around them was only disrupted by Amy's elevated breathing. Doctor Cooper appeared annoyingly calm.

"The way I behaved was _nothing_ compared to what you did to me last Friday," Amy hissed.

Doctor Cooper regarded her with hooded eyes. His smirk looked most evil. "And what was it that I did?" he asked.

He was parroting her earlier behaviour. _What a cunning move. _Amy scowled at him. "You know what you did," she mumbled, hating herself for being unable to keep the stutter out of her voice.

"Enlighten me, Miss Fowler," he said, straightening up now and walking around the desk towards her. Amy backed up in sync with his advancements.

They circled each other around the desk.

Amy tried desperately to think of a witty comeback. She was smart, intelligent. Always at the top of her class. But Doctor Cooper outwitted her time and time again. She hated it.

"Your so-called teaching methods are rather unorthodox," she said, hoping in vain he would be taken aback.

Doctor Cooper's lip curled up. "They might have been," he said simply, "but as long as the required goal is met, I don't see a problem."

_Required goal? _Amy laughed humourlessly, walking in circles still.

"And what goal was that?" she questioned cynically.

Without missing a beat, Doctor Cooper answered. "Learning from your mistakes, Miss Fowler," he said, "obviously."

His comment made her stop in her tracks. _Was he serious? _

Before she knew it, he had advanced towards her. He grasped her hips and pushed her against his desk at the front of the class room. He moved closer to her.

"I thought you had learned your lesson, Miss Fowler," he whispered darkly, "but is seems a refresher course is in order."

And then his mouth was on hers.

He moved insistently, pressing his lips firmly against hers. His hands squeezed her hips, holding her still. Amy could only blink in shock at first. Then her eyes fluttered closed as she kissed him back timidly.

Doctor Cooper made a growling sound in the back of his throat. Her body responded immediately. His tongue swept across her lips, opening them up for him. She acquiesced gladly. An electric current buzzed through her as their tongues met. Amy lifted her hands slowly, grasping the lapels of his jacket uncertainly.

Doctor Cooper was devouring her. His lips moving over hers in a confident, almost aggressive manner. It made Amy weak in the knees. Their tongues brushed against each other again and again.

Suddenly, Amy was lifted from the ground and found herself sitting on the desk. She pulled back from his face, startled by his ability to lift her from the ground as easily as he did. His eyes were dark and piercing. Amy panted as she looked at him.

He kept looking at her intensely. His hand grasped both her knees, and he pushed her legs open deliberately. His hands were warm on her bare legs. Amy inhaled sharply at the touch. Her underwear was already uncomfortably damp with her arousal. His fingers caressed the inside of her legs softly.

Doctor Cooper raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is this what you had in mind this morning, Miss Fowler?" he whispered, "When you chose to parade around like this in front of me?"

Amy blushed fully. She looked away from his face, feeling uncomfortable by his questions. It _had _been her intention to provoke him. But now that he was doing just that, she felt insecure. She didn't know how to proceed. She didn't know how to _do_ anything other than kissing. Everything she knew, she knew from reading dirty Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfiction or watching pornography.

Perhaps she should stop this. He was her professor after all. Well, at least for another three weeks that is.

She tried to close her legs, but Doctor Cooper pressed back firmly. "Oh, don't back down now, Miss Fowler," he muttered, opening her legs even wider and stepping in-between them, "you already denied me closure last time. That won't happen again."

He took hold of her jaw and turned her face so she had no choice but to look at him. She was shaking in insecurity and a bit of fear, but tried to look him in the eye.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked, sincerely.

Amy bit her lip. Did she? Of course she didn't want _him _to stop. She was just really nervous about whether or not he expected something from _her_. And he did, because apparently he wanted closure. The last time she had left him with an erection in Leonard's lab. She didn't think she'd be able to though.

She shook her head at him anyway. Her aroused state making decisions for her.

He kissed her again, hard and unyielding. Amy gasped and his tongue licked its way into her mouth.

One of his hands roamed up her leg to the apex of her thighs. Amy trembled in anticipation, disconnecting their mouths and breathing deeply. She kept her eyes closed and pressed her forehead to his.

His fingers moved to her panties, and grazed her lightly. Amy inhaled sharply. He moved the drenched piece of cloth to the side and touched her without any barriers. She was extremely turned on.

Amy moaned softly.

"Hmmm," Doctor Cooper hummed in appreciation, moving his fingers over her slowly. "You're so hot for me, aren't you?"

Amy trembled, breathing shakily. She didn't dare answer him.

One of his fingers slid inside her. Amy mewled. He began to pump into her leisurely.

Doctor Cooper's face was in her neck now, breathing harshly. "God, you're so tight, Amy," he groaned in her ear. "Am I the first to touch you like this?"

His thumb moved over her clit as he spoke, and Amy couldn't stop herself from answering truthfully. "Yes," she breathed out.

He halted for a split-second. Then his finger curled inside her and pressed down again. Amy wailed softly. His thumb kept caressing her clit and she was steadily approaching the point of no-return.

"This complicates matters," he murmured in her ear. "The things I want to do to you..."

Amy panted, holding onto the lapels of his jacket so tightly her knuckles were white. His words were almost turning her on more than what he was doing to her underneath her skirt. She had pressed her face into his neck now, breathing in his scent of fabric softener and talcum powder.

"W-w-what do you want to do?" Amy breathed out between moans.

"Have you forgotten?" Doctor Cooper chuckled in her ear, "Or do you just want to hear me say it again?"

He pushed another finger inside her and Amy inhaled sharply at the intrusion. She was so wet by now she barely felt the slight sting of pain. Amy could only moan in response. He had stopped touching her clit and was solely focussing on stretching her it seemed. His fingers moved easily through the slickness now.

He removed his hand suddenly, and Amy felt strangely empty without the contact. She opened her eyes languidly. She wasn't done yet. Had she somehow given him the impression she had?

She blinked up at him, annoyed by being denied release. She was trying to catch her breath.

"Why don't I just show you what I want you to do instead?" Doctor Cooper said suggestively.

Amy swallowed nervously.

Doctor Cooper took a step from her and removed his jacket. He turned around, pulled a nearby chair closer and draped it across the back. _Maybe it would wrinkle if he just threw it down?_ His hands went to the front of his pants. He held her gaze as he unbuttoned them and lowered the zipper.

Amy's eyes nearly bugged out as she watched him lowering his pants and underwear without shame.

He sat down on the chair, reclining against the backrest. He took hold of his erect member and moved his hand over it in a controlled motion. He was shuddering slightly.

Amy stared at him.

It was the most erotic thing she had ever seen.

"Come here," he said, his blue eyes nearly black now. He still had a firm grasp on himself, he moved his fist up and down slowly.

Amy's legs trembled as she got off the desk. She walked over to him awkwardly. _Well, _she thought, _here goes nothing. _

She licked her dry lips when she came to a stop in front of him. Now what? She looked at him insecurely.

Doctor Cooper looked back at her. His eyes seemed to sparkle with suppressed amusement. "Don't tell me I have to teach you everything now, Miss Fowler?"

Amy flushed. The sudden anger she felt towards him made her blood boil. Why, _why, _did he have to be this condescending _all the time? _

She'd show him.

She lowered herself on her knees in front of him. Amy grasped the top of his pants and pulled them further down roughly. They pooled around his ankles. Taking a page out of his own book, she pushed at his knees and pushed his legs further apart.

Doctor Cooper was watching her with raised eyebrows and a smug smile.

Amy's eyes moved to the erection between his legs. She gulped nervously. She was a biologist. She knew the basics. Also, pornography had shown her how to – literally – handle a situation like this.

Amy moved her hand closer to his dick. Doctor Cooper removed his own hand. His eyes followed her every move.

Circling it with her hand, Amy couldn't help but be surprised with how it felt. She had expected something else – what, she wasn't sure. But not this pulsing, and hard yet soft feeling. It was strange. Slowly, she moved her hand up and down, tightening her hold on him ever so slighty.

Doctor Cooper groaned softly. "Fuck.. yessss," he hissed, closing his eyes.

Amy watched in wonder how he responded to her movements. It made her feel powerful. Confident.

She liked it.

Feeling bold, the increased the speed of her movements and adopted the most seductive tone of voice she could muster. "Is this what you wanted, professor?"

Doctor Cooper's eyes shot open. He looked at her with a devious glint in his eye. His hand moved to cradle her head.

"I think you know what I wanted, Miss Fowler," he muttered, as he pushed her face towards his crotch.

_To be continued_

**A/N: *Laughs evilly* I'm not even sorry for stopping here. I hope you enjoyed this; let me know. Reviews give me life. **


	18. Justifications

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 17**

**Justifications**

_"Is this what you wanted, professor?" _

_Doctor Cooper's eyes shot open. He looked at her with a devious glint in his eye. His hand moved to cradle her head. _

_"I think you know what I wanted, Miss Fowler," he muttered, as he pushed her face towards his crotch. _

Amy recoiled slightly. Her mouth had fallen open in shock. Her grip on his pulsing member had loosened. She licked her dry lips. _Was he serious? _

"That's it," Doctor Cooper murmured, "lick your lips…"

Amy looked up at him hesitantly. Doctor Cooper's mouth twisted into a smirk. "There's no need to be scared, Miss Fowler," he whispered, "if you follow my instructions like a good student, maybe I'll reward you for your work later."

Excitement coursed through her at his words. Amy swallowed thickly.

Doctor Cooper was watching her intensely. _Was he determining if she was ok with this? _

Amy licked her lips again slowly, locking eyes with him the entire time. She tightened her grip on his dick. Was he less hard than before? Maybe he wasn't as confident as he appeared, and worried he was taking liberties with her she didn't want.

But she did want him. She just didn't know how to proceed.

She moved her hand up and down again slowly, still marvelling at the feel of the blood rushing through him right underneath her fingers.

Doctor Cooper exhaled harshly, and the hand on her head pulled on her hair a little in response. Amy gasped at the slight sting of pain.

"Are you going to follow my instructions, Miss Fowler?" he muttered, while his fingers moved through her hair, massaging her scalp.

Amy squeezed his dick in response, biting her lip again.

She gave him a small nod.

Doctor Cooper grinned slowly. "Good," he muttered.

Amy wet her lips again, and moved closer to him, balancing herself on his knee with her free hand. Mustering all the courage she had in her, she bent over slowly.

The hand on her head halted her, "Mind your teeth."

Amy frowned at him. She hadn't been planning on biting him. Why would he say such a thing?

He said no more, but pushed her down once again. Amy pressed her lips to the tip of his dick in a soft kiss. She opened her mouth a little, moving her lips over him. It was kind of like eating a popsicle, she thought. She could do this.

"Open your mouth for me," Doctor Cooper's commanding voice had immediate effect on her nether regions. Amy squeezed her legs together, hoping to relieve some of the tension she felt herself.

She obliged him. He pressed himself up inside her mouth a little, strangely catching her off guard. Amy opened her mouth further as fast as she could, trying to accommodate him.

"Your teeth, Miss Fowler," he hissed, and Amy quickly moved back from him. Covering her teeth with her lips as best as she could, she tried again.

He slipped inside her mouth easily like this. She brushed her tongue over the underside of his member, feeling the edges and the ridges alongside it.

Doctor Cooper groaned in what she could only hope was appreciation. Saliva pooled in her mouth. The hand on her head pushed her forward a little, and Amy opened her jaw further.

"Yesss," he hissed, "now move your hand again." Amy did as she was told, moving her hand in sync with the bobbing of her head. She kept moving her tongue in circles over the tip of his penis, alternating between moving her lips over the tip and taking him into her mouth.

The sounds coming out of Doctor Cooper's mouth, the soft grunts and low moans, were slowly but surely driving her crazy.

"You're doing really well, Miss Fowler," he muttered, his fingers boring into her scalp as he held her head still and pushed into her mouth repeatedly. Amy inhaled sharply, her mouth open wide for his thrusts into her. She gagged as he pressed hard against the back of her throat.

She must not be doing _that _well, she presumed. He was still able to form coherent sentences after all. And she couldn't even take him that far into her mouth. How did those girls in pornography do this?

As if sensing her inner turmoil, he stopped his thrusts and loosened his grip on her head. "You can do better than this," he stated, "let the saliva fill your mouth… relax your throat… keep breathing…"

Amy follow his instructions as best as she could. Breathing slowly through her nose, she increased her grasp on his penis, and moved her opened mouth over him. He slid inside easily through the amount of spit inside. She was practically drooling over him.

It felt as if he was growing bigger and harder in her mouth. Amy gagged only slightly now, when he slid further and further inside her.

Doctor Cooper was groaning fully now. The sounds resonated in shocks of arousal through her.

"Such a good student," he growled, "I'm gonna come in your mouth later and you're going to swallow it all."

Amy whimpered at his words. She accidentally sucked hard on his dick in response. She choked a little, breathing hard through her nose. Giving head was rather hard work.

Doctor Cooper grunted loudly, and pulled on her hair. "Do that again," he grumbled, easing himself from her throat and thrusting shallowly in her mouth, "suck my dick, Amy… fuckkk you're doing so well…"

Amy felt her own arousal grow more by the second. His words, his appraisal, the use of her first name, the feeling of his dick in her hand and in her mouth as well… it turned her on more than anything had ever had in her life.

She kept sucking him, moving her hand up and down, squeezing him inside her hand and in her mouth. Her tongue lapped at his member as it slid inside her mouth.

She could _feel_ the change in the pulsations in his dick suddenly. The grip on her head intensified and held her in place. Doctor Cooper groaned deeply above her. She moaned around his member. "FUCK, _Amy_…"

Hot bursts of cum shot in her mouth. It was salty and bitter and overall unpleasantly tasting. He pulsated between her lips for a long time. Then he carefully slipped from her mouth. Amy quickly covered her mouth before any of it would fall out. Amy wrinkled her nose at the sheer amount of cum inside her mouth, but swallowed it as quickly as she could.

She looked up at Doctor Cooper. His chest was heaving. His eyes watching her intently.

Amy wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and couldn't suppress a smirk. _She did this to him. _

She pulled herself up slowly, using his knees for support. Her legs felt sore from being crouched down for a long period of time. She walked over to her desk on wobbly legs, grabbed a bottle of water from her bag and gulped down mouthfuls of water rapidly. She sloshed the water around in her mouth, trying to rid herself of the weird taste and the strange feeling his sperm left behind in her mouth.

_Now what?_

The wetness between her legs was really uncomfortable now. Her heart was racing still with what she had just done. _She had had Doctor Cooper's penis in her mouth. _In an unlocked classroom. Anyone could have walked in…

She thought back to what it must have looked like. Doctor Cooper reclining in a chair, she on her knees in front of him, wearing a tartan skirt, his hand on her head, holding her in place as she fellated him.

A thrill went through her at the illicitness of it all.

She had had more than just his _penis _in her mouth. Amy took a final sip of water and closed the bottle.

She heard him shuffle around behind her. Amy turned slowly, awkwardly looking at him.

He was standing in front of the chair, buttoning up his pants, still breathing harder than usual. He looked up and his eyes shone with something. Adoration? Want? Satisfaction?

All Amy could be really certain of was that the look in his eyes made her insides burn.

She unconsciously pulled on the hem of her skirt, feeling silly wearing it now. Should she leave?

Doctor Cooper's hand closed around her wrist, and he pulled her towards him. He kissed her, closed-mouthed, but hungrily, and Amy felt him push her against the desk again.

He trailed kisses from her lips to her neck, kissing her on the spot beneath her ear that made her squirm. "You've proven to be a good student after all, Miss Fowler," he murmured.

Amy moaned softly, her stomach contracting in excitement. His hands moved from her hips to the top of her legs quickly, and he pulled down her panties in one fast move. "Oh!" Amy gasped, surprised.

"Did you like sucking my dick, Amy?" Doctor Cooper panted in her ear. He shoved his hand between her legs, feeling her arousal, and chuckled in her ear. "Oh, you liked it alright.."

Amy felt herself blush. She held onto his arms, fearing her legs would give out as she felt his fingers on her again. She was so far gone already, it would only take him a few quick strokes to get her there.

His fingers slipped inside her, pumping into her. "Ahh," Amy cried out. His thumb brushed over her clit repeatedly and Amy gripped his arms tightly in response.

She was coming already.

Waves of pleasure moved through her, starting from the place where his fingers currently were to the tips of her toes and hands and back again. She squeezed around the fingers inside her as she fell apart in his arms.

She had her head buried in his shirt, gasping for breath. Her heart racing still.

Doctor Cooper removed his hand from between her legs and lifted her on the desk again. Amy's arms fell limply at her sides. She was still catching her breath, her eyes closed as she pondered what had just happened. She had been wound so tight, her orgasm had taken her completely by surprise. It had been over quickly and she felt strangely disappointed.

She heard a chair scrape across the floor, but it didn't fully register what was happening until she felt Doctor Cooper pulling her panties from between her legs all the way. She opened her eyes and looked at the scene in front of her.

Doctor Cooper had taken the chair and sat down in front of her. She watched him put her panties in his pocket. _Was he going to steal these as well? _

He looked back up to her, and pushed her legs open. Amy regarded him nervously. She was spread out in front of him.

"That was rather fast, Miss Fowler," he said, maintaining eye contact while his hands softly caressed the insides of her thighs.

Amy blushed under his gaze.

"I wasn't done with you yet," he continued, and he lifted her right leg and positioned it on his shoulder. The movement caused Amy to shift on the desk, and fall back slightly. Her other leg was pushed wide out.

Between kisses on the inside of her thighs, Doctor Cooper spoke softly to her. "I promised to reward you if you listened to my instructions, did I not?"

Amy panted softly. His head was really close her aching centre. Would he..?

"Luckily, the female body is capable of reaching orgasm more than once…" his breath on her caused her to tremble, "have you ever come twice in a row, Amy?"

Amy shook her head. His mouth was so _close_. She felt self-conscious of the amount of moisture there, and felt anxious to what would happen.

"No?" Doctor Cooper questioned rhetorically, "because you're about to."

He dove under her skirt, obscuring him from her view. His mouth was on her. Amy yelped as she felt his tongue brush over her cunt. "Sssh," Doctor Cooper shushed against her still very sensitive flesh.

His tongue moved over her, hard and relentless. His mouth sucked on her clit.

Amy was losing her mind.

She had fallen back on the desk, biting her fist to stifle her moans.

Never, ever would she have imagined something could feel like this. Phenomenal. The sensation of his mouth and tongue on her was almost too much to handle. He lapped at her steadily, his hand holding her leg firmly in place on his shoulder.

His other hand moved from her knee to where his mouth was. Amy mewled when she felt him push two fingers inside her.

She was climbing steadily to what could only be a very high summit. Her legs trembled, her breath unsteady, her heart raced. "Come for me, Amy," Doctor Cooper murmured against her. He licked her clit and curled his fingers inside her.

Amy convulsed on his fingers. She was coming insanely hard. Stars burst behind her eyelids. Pleasure coursed through her and continued to, because Doctor Cooper wasn't letting up. He kept lapping at her, his fingers still pumping, caressing her with his tongue, his mouth moving over her.

Amy shuddered underneath him as the final shocks of her orgasm moved her body. She was utterly and completely spent.

She fell back on the desk completely, her eyes closed and her breathing laboured.

_That had been amazing. _Doctor Cooper had completely ruined her for other men. Or her right hand. Or her electric tooth brush. She had never come this hard in her life.

Doctor Cooper grasped both her hands and pulled her up. She blinked languidly at him. His mouth shone with her arousal.

She flushed under his gaze.

"If you continue to behave like a good, obeying student, Miss Fowler…" he muttered, licking his lips, "who knows what your reward will be next time."

Amy trembled in anticipation already.

_To be continued_

**A/N Hopefully you enjoyed these 2,300 words of pure pornography for this otherwise dull weekend. Plot will continue in the next chapter, I promise. Let me know what you think. **

**Reviews are not better than sex, but it sure comes close *winks* **


	19. Speculations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 18 **

**Speculations**

Amy walked into the Cheesecake Factory the following day. She had made plans to meet up with Bernadette. Since she took an earlier bus, she decided to wait at the bar and chat with Penny for a bit.

She had grown on her, Penny. And, since she knew Doctor Cooper really well, perhaps she could help Amy shed some light on the whole situation. The goodbyes yesterday had been interesting to say the least.

After the events in the classroom, he had helped her off the desk, she was still wobbly on her legs.

_"Will you come to my office this Wednesday to discuss your paper? I've checked your schedule, and we should have enough time after your final class," he said. _

_Amy blinked at him. She had forgotten he had access to her Google Calendar. _

_"Uhm, sure," Amy murmured. She was still hazy from her earlier orgasm. _

_"Good," he responded, "perhaps you should leave this classroom first. There are no other classes here this time of day, but on the off chance that there is someone around here, it's best we leave separately. People might talk if they were to see the both of us exit at the same time." _

_"Right," Amy nodded quickly._

_She had been halfway to the door, when she figured out why something felt amiss. He still had her panties in his pocket. _

_She turned around, red in the face. "Doctor Cooper?" _

_He was wiping his hands and mouth with a wet wipe. He looked up questioningly. _

_"Yes?" _

_His eyes were crinkled with amusement. He was daring her to ask for them back, she could tell by the look on his face. _

_She decided not to humour him; she would rather walk around campus half naked, then to give him the satisfaction of her asking for it. _

_"I expect a grade with constructive criticism on my performance within 36 hours," she said instead, and turned to the door, hiding the grin on her face at his perplexed look. _

Amy saw Penny making a cocktail for Rajesh Koothrappali, it was light greenish in colour in a martini glass. She hesitated. She had wanted to speak to Penny in private, not with one of Doctor Cooper's friends present as well.

Amy figured she couldn't just hang out at the entrance of the restaurant either. She walked over to the bar and greeted the both of them happily. "Hello Penny, Rajesh," she nodded and installed herself on the barstool next to him.

"Hello," Rajesh greeted her, sipping his cocktail.

Penny grinned at her devilishly. "Amy, how are you doing girl?" she raised her eyebrows for good measure, as if her tone wasn't suggestive enough.

Amy blushed. "I'm fine, thank you," she muttered. Penny was already pouring her a glass of wine.

"I think you're more than just fine, Amy," she said, handing her the glass. "Sheldon looked more obnoxious than usual yesterday evening. Dare I say, he looked rather pleased about something."

Amy felt the blush spread across her face. This was a bad idea. Obviously, Penny knew something happened. Why did he have to behave this transparently?

"I thought something was up with him today," Rajesh interjected. "He wasn't even mean to Howard during lunch, which he always is. Did you have something to do with this?"

Amy took a big gulp of her wine, avoiding both their eyes. _Good God, this was awkward. _

Penny must have noticed how uncomfortable she was, because she tried to change the subject. "Raj, the guys are here," she nudged him, mentioning to a table behind him.

Amy did a double take at her words.

Of course the others would be there as well. Why else would Rajesh be drinking by himself at the bar?

Leonard appeared next to her. He leaned over the bar, giving Penny a kiss in greeting. "What time do you get off work?" he asked. Penny rolled her eyes, and sighed loudly. "I was hoping at nine-ish. I was going to have drinks with Bernadette and Amy later."

Amy raised her eyebrows. She hadn't made any plans of the sort. Penny winked at her.

Leonard turned around. "Oh, hey Amy!" he looked genuinely happy to see her, and gave her an awkward one-armed hug.

"Are you here by yourself?" he asked, looking around for a companion of sorts.

"No, I'm meeting Bernadette for dinner," Amy replied.

"Why don't the two of you join us?" he said, smiling, "I'm sure the others won't mind, and Howard is always happy to spend more time with Bernadette."

Amy tried her hardest to think of a reason to decline. Nothing came to mind.

Penny smirked at her. "Yeah, Amy, why don't you?"

"Alright," Amy finally replied, and followed Leonard to the round table.

Rajesh saw them approach, and stood up courteously to give his seat to Amy. He moved to a different table quickly, grabbing a vacant chair to sit on. Amy would have smiled more brightly at him in appreciation, if the proffered seat wasn't next to Doctor Cooper.

"Thank you, Raj," she muttered, lowering herself in the seat.

Doctor Cooper looked her over. Amy could feel his stare boring through her. "Miss Fowler," he said, his voice monotone, "this is a surprise."

He didn't sound at all happy about this.

"Yes, I ran into her at the bar," Leonard grinned, either not noticing his less than welcome attitude or choosing to ignore it, "Bernadette will be joining us as well. I thought it would be nice for us to get to know Amy better."

Howard perked up at the mention of Bernadette's name. "Bernie's coming as well? Yay!"

Rajesh got up again, walking over to a table to get yet another chair for Bernadette. He put the chair next to Howard, making the others scoot in even more.

Amy could actually feel the body heat coming from Doctor Cooper to her left.

"This is fun!" Leonard said, still oblivious to what was going on between Amy and Doctor Cooper.

"So, Amy," Howard continued, "I hope Sheldon didn't give you too much of a _hard_ time yesterday for not answering that question in class."

Amy choked on her drink. Did he know? Or was she imagining the emphasis on the word 'hard'?

Amy coughed. "No, it was alright."

Suddenly realising she could have fun with this, she continued. "I think I've gotten a lot better actually," she neglected to say at what, "don't you agree, Doctor Cooper?"

Doctor Cooper gave her a look. "There is still a plenty of room for improvement, Miss Fowler," he said haughtily.

Amy tried not to let the disappointment show on her face.

"Of course there is, it's not my expertise after all," she answered, smiling sweetly at him, "but I think with your _instructions_ I'll improve in no time. I am a good student after all."

Doctor Cooper's pupils dilated and he narrowed his eyes at her. Amy blinked back at him innocently.

When it appeared he wasn't going to respond, Amy looked away from him and took a sip of her wine again. Howard looked curious at their exchange. Leonard was looking at her suspiciously.

_Oops, _maybe she hadn't been as subtle as she thought.

Rajesh looked none the wiser however. "How nice that you're taking such an interest in physics, Amy," he said, "you're a biology student, aren't you? What are you currently working on?"

Amy cleared her throat. Maybe it _was_ better that they talk about something else.

She started to tell Rajesh all about her current workings with the Capuchin monkeys – he interrupted and told her about all the exotic animals his parents had in India – and how their nicotine addiction was fascinating to see. She was just talking about the difference in behaviour between the monkeys addicted to menthol cigarettes, and the ones addicted to regular ones, when Bernadette arrived.

"Hi guys," she greeted, shooting Amy a look as she saw how close she was sitting to Doctor Cooper. "This is unexpected, us eating together like this."

"Thank you," Doctor Cooper spoke up angrily, rolling his eyes, "apparently, it's the more the merrier at the Cheesecake Factory."

"Sheldon!" Leonard reprimanded him. It was the second time Amy saw him berate Doctor Cooper. Was this normal behaviour in their social group?

"This completely disrupts the group dynamic of our usual meals together," Doctor Cooper explained, sounding like a child who didn't get his way.

"Well, I think it's nice," Rajesh said, smiling. "Besides, Penny eats with us all the time, you don't mind her."

"Yeah, Sheldon," Howard interjected giving him a sly smile, "we thought you'd like to eat with Amy… And Bernadette. They're both scientists, so we'll be able to discuss something interesting as well."

Doctor Cooper just stared at him angrily.

Amy felt incredibly awkward. And they hadn't even ordered dinner yet.

The waitress came by, taking their order and bringing another round of red wine for herself and Bernadette. She hadn't even ordered it, but accepted it gladly.

Doctor Cooper took an insane amount of time explaining how he wanted his cheeseburger (barbecue sauce, chees and tomatoes on the side, cucumber instead of pickles and no onions), eventually telling her that she should just ask Penny for directions.

Amy watched Howard grasp Bernadette's hand on the table. They shared a not-so secret smile. Amy watched them with a slight pang of pain in her heart. Doctor Cooper sat next to her, but hadn't so much as looked at her after her daring statements.

After everyone's order was taken, an awkward silence settled over them.

Luckily, Leonard saved the day as he brought up the topic of the Higgs Boson and its significance to the future of physics. It started a heated discussion that lasted all through dinner on whether or not there would be more discoveries like this around the corner.

The waitress came over to clear their empty plates, and Amy leaned to the side to give her access. Closer to him like this, she could smell the now familiar scent of fabric softener and talcum powder that she came to associate with Doctor Cooper. The scent alone caused her heartrate to quicken.

She almost yelped when she felt the hand on her leg. He gave her a squeeze, as if to silence her.

Amy looked to her left subtly, but Doctor Cooper wasn't even looking at her. He kept his gaze focussed on Rajesh to his left, continuing their conversation about sub-atomic particles.

The hand moved up, sliding under her skirt. Amy stilled in anticipation. _What the hell was he doing?_

Amy hoped the others didn't notice her slight blush. Taking a deep breath, she spread her legs a little, granting Doctor Cooper more access. Access to what, she couldn't say.

She felt his hand graze the inside of her thigh, inching higher still.

"So, Amy," Bernadette said, startling Amy. She jumped in her seat, and Doctor Cooper's hand slipped between her legs fully now.

Bernadette looked at her quizzically. "I was wondering if you'll be going back to Harvard after this year is over?"

All eyes were suddenly on her. Including Doctor Cooper's.

Doctor Cooper, whose hand was firmly lodged between her legs, his ring finger and pinkie grazing her through her panties. Amy shuddered with arousal, but she hoped it came off as nervousness to the others.

She cleared her throat, "I'll have to go back either way to get my diploma and present my dissertation for the committee," she answered. The hand between her legs stopped moving.

"But after that, I don't know. I was hoping to continue researching here at Caltech," she finished, "I have my family here as well." _Among other things, _she added in her head. And Doctor Cooper's fingers caressed her once more.

"It would be nice if you were able to stay here, Amy," Bernadette smiled at her genuinely.

Howard gave her a smile as well. He would forever be in her debt for helping him get back together with Bernadette, Amy realised.

"Thank you," Amy smiled. The hand between her legs squeezed her thigh. _What was he trying to tell her? _

The silence that followed was comfortable, until Leonard looked at his watch. "Time flies!" he exclaimed, "we should go if we want to catch that movie."

The others around them nodded, and Doctor Cooper removed his hand from between her legs. Amy tried to subtly pull down her skirt. He had barely touched her, yet she was incredibly turned on nonetheless.

"Why don't you pull the car round, Leonard," Doctor Cooper said in his usual no-nonsense voice, "I'll settle the bill."

Everybody moved quickly after that; Leonard and Raj walked out of the restaurant, waving them goodbye. Bernadette had stood up to give Howard a really inappropriate kiss goodbye.

Amy regarded them with distaste. She liked Bernadette, really, but her earlier arousal was disappearing rapidly watching this public display of affection.

Doctor Cooper cleared his throat next to her softly. Amy looked back at him.

The look in his eyes was intense and her heart constricted. "I haven't forgotten about your request, Miss Fowler," he muttered, as if not to disturb Howard and Bernadette, "you'll receive my written assessment of your… _performance _before midnight."

Amy gulped nervously.

He raised his eyebrow. "Not so confident now, are we?" he smirked, and stood up from the table. Looking over at the couple, he raised his voice. "Wolowitz! Let's go."

Amy watched him walk to the cash register and pull out his credit card. Bernadette and Wolowitz were still kissing, albeit more subtly then before.

"Howie," Bernadette giggled, "you're gonna miss the movie!"

"I'd rather spend the evening with you than in a theatre watching a movie I've seen before," he replied, nuzzling her nose.

"Okay," Bernadette whispered, giving in.

"SHELDON!" Howard hollered, unashamed at the scene he was making, "Go ahead! I'm not coming!"

Doctor Cooper just looked at him, shook his head and turned around to leave. Amy decided to leave Howard and Bernadette to it, and got up to walk to the bar.

Penny looked up, and her face contorted in disgust as she saw Howard and Bernadette going at it. "Oh God, this is a family place," she said, "if I don't throw up in my mouth at the sight of this, someone else will. My boss will probably kick them out soon."

Penny handed her another glass of wine. Amy smiled gratefully in response.

"So," Penny said, grinning at Amy, "will I be seeing you at breakfast at 4A anytime soon?"

Amy blushed. "I don't think so," she muttered, taking a big gulp of wine. She was rapidly getting drunk with these amounts of alcohol.

Penny looked disappointed. "Oh," she said. "I thought something might have happened between you two yesterday? Maybe a kiss or something…"

Amy looked away and knew Penny could see her intense blush. _Oh Penny, if only you knew what had happened. _

"If you're not into Sheldon, let me know. I'll stop badgering you about it, I swear," Penny said, "but I think one of you just needs a little push for either one of you to admit you're into each other."

Penny made it sound like Doctor Cooper was really into her.

Amy wasn't convinced. He was attracted to her, that was certain. But he was doing this whole dominant power display, which really said nothing about his feelings for her. Only that he desired her physically.

A horrifying thought entered her mind. _Maybe she wasn't the first student he did this whole power display with… _

Amy emptied her glass in one gulp. "I'm gonna go," she said, needing to be alone with her thoughts. She didn't trust Penny enough to confide her doubts to. She'd blab to Doctor Cooper for sure.

"Thanks for the wine," she said, sliding a few dollar bills towards Penny.

She left with Penny looking at her with a blank expression on her face, probably wondering if she had said something wrong.

* * *

Amy took a ridiculously long shower once she got home. Her head was filled with thoughts she couldn't seem to shake.

Why hadn't she thought about this before? Perhaps Doctor Cooper had a different student each semester to 'teach' stuff to… He hadn't expressed any feelings to her whatsoever, just lust and a need to make her abide by his rules.

Sure, he had been comforting and kind to her after that whole ordeal with Zack, but that could have just been a ploy to get her to warm up to him.

And who was this Ramona the girls kept mentioning? Was she a former student of his? Should she look her up on Facebook?

Amy was slowly going crazy.

She got out of the shower and grabbed her phone. She had a missed call from her mother.

Amy frowned. The relationship with her mother was strained to say the least. They hardly ever talked on the phone.

_Why would she call her this randomly? _

She also had several unread messages. Doctor Cooper had sent her two, but Amy was more interested in the one her mother had sent.

_10:11 PM  
From: Mom  
Aunt Flora died yesterday. The funeral is this Saturday. Wear something appropriate, Dad will pick you up at 10AM. _

Amy stared at the message in shock.

Pain gripped her around her heart. She heaved out a sob when the message fully registered. Her sweet, sweet great-aunt Flora had passed. Aunt Flora had always been more of a grandmother to her than her own grandmother, who had passed before she was born. She shouldn't be that surprised or upset; Aunt Flora had been well in her nineties, and lived a full life.

Yet, she couldn't stop herself from crying.

The fact that her mother informed her via text message felt like a knife in the heart.

She threw herself down on her bed and cried over the comforting hugs from Aunt Flora she would never receive again, never whisper conspiringly with her about her stuck-up mother, but most of all, cried over the way her mother just didn't seem to care enough about her, when she brought her only daughter such heart-breaking news like this.

All thoughts of Doctor Cooper and his possible former girlfriends left her mind as she cried herself to sleep.

_To be continued_

**A/N: You probably weren't expecting anything like this, but please, stick with me. **

**On a more personal note: tomorrow, December 17th, it will be one year since my father passed away. It is no coincidence I'm posting this (and the next) chapter now.  
My father was seriously ill and died way before his time. The cancer had grown quickly due to medication supressing his immune system. It had spread from his lungs to his brain and liver, and there was simply no cure. He was almost unrecognizable, both physically and mentally as well, the final weeks of his life. Those weeks in December were literally the darkest of my life.  
Waiting for inevitable death was incredibly hard and exhausting. At some moment in time, you start hoping for it to be over.  
And now, after 364 days without him, I still can't get used to the idea I will never see him again, or talk to him on the phone, or laugh at his stupid (sometimes racist) dad-jokes. Rationally, I know everyone has to say goodbye to their parents at some point in their life (please, never let it be the other way around), but losing my father at 29 was not something I ever imagined.  
My father was a humble man. Kind. Smart. Funny. I wish he could have had more; grandchildren perhaps, more trips abroad. But he was satisfied just seeing me and my sister happy, and listening to music with a good Belgian beer. My father taught me compassion, respecting others and being satisfied with what I had.  
I miss him dearly, but I hope some of his best qualities continue to live on inside me. **

**The next chapter will be emotional (for me at least), but it will be a good thing for Amy and Sheldon. I'm hoping to post it sometime this week.**

**Thank you. For your amazing reviews so far, and any kind words in advance. **


	20. Affections

**A/N I already had this finished last night. **

**Your responses about dealing with grief and losing someone close to you, meant the world to me. Sharing the pain makes it easier somehow. Thank you so much for sharing with me, and also for your kind words and digital hugs. **

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 19**

**Affections**

Amy woke up groggily from her insistent alarm. She hadn't turned off her alarms last night, and had fallen asleep naked. Amy looked at her phone, and her mother's message was lit up on the screen.

Tears welled up in her eyes almost immediately.

Amy laid back down in bed and contemplated going to Caltech. The thought of getting dressed and going to work, watching the monkeys smoke or go crazy over nicotine-withdrawals, made her feel even worse. Amy pulled up her e-mail and typed a quick message to her supervisor, stating she was taking a personal day due to a death in the family.

She saw an unread e-mail from Dr Cooper as well.

_From: S.L. Cooper, PhD  
Subject: Performance review_

Oh, right. She had asked him to grade her on her so-called oral skills. She silenced her phone and put it back on her bedside table.

Amy rolled her eyes at her past-self's lame attempt at flirting. Seriously, what was she thinking. She wasn't special to Doctor Cooper. She wasn't even special to her own mother.

Amy wondered where the delusions she ever felt special had come from. Her newfound friendship with Bernadette, and Penny as well, had given her a false sense of confidence.

It was all clear again to Amy just how insignificant she really was after the lack of interaction with her mother. Times like these she wished she had a sister or a brother to talk to. When she was younger, she had always thought that maybe she wasn't to blame, maybe it was just the way her mother was.

But after years of neglect in high school, being ignored at university, trying to join sororities but just ending up being bullied again, Amy had concluded that it probably _was _her.

After meeting Bernadette, Amy had finally realised that maybe she would get the social circle she had always dreamed of. But Doctor Cooper was just using her to get another notch on his bedpost, and Bernadette had been doing just fine without her. She probably would have gotten back together with Howard without her help.

Amy curled up in a ball, and cried into her pillow again.

How she longed for a warm maternal hug from Aunt Flora.

Aunt Flora always cheered her up. After Uncle George passed, she had been the one to encourage her to pursue a career in the hard sciences.

Amy wondered who would encourage her now. She surely didn't have the strength to do it herself now.

* * *

After a restless nap, Amy got up to eat something. She wasn't hungry, but her stomach growled angrily.

After a long period of indecisiveness, she called her parents' house. Her father answered the phone. He was a man of very few words – he preferred not to speak at all – and the conversation she had with him was of little comfort.

All she found out, was that her mother was over at the nursing home cleaning out the room Aunt Flora had occupied the last couple of years. She had died peacefully in her sleep. The priest had come by already to go over the ceremony that coming weekend.

Amy thanked her father for the information, and decided to call her mother anyway.

"Amy," her mother started as she answered, "this is not a good time. I'm at the nursing home and we're rather busy."

Amy didn't know why it still stung when her mother spoke to her without a hint of compassion.

"I know, Mom," she answered, "Dad told me. I was hoping you could hold something aside for me?"

"Please, Amy," her mother snapped, "now is not the time to go after her jewellery. I thought I had raised you better than this."

Amy blinked away tears. "I'm not after any jewels, Mom. I just wanted to know if she still had the music box with the ballerina in it. We used to listen to it. If no one wants it, I'd very much like to have it."

Her mother was silent for a moment. "That was a piece junk she bought at goodwill. I already threw it out this morning."

The iron fist around Amy's heart constricted once more. "Oh," was all she managed to choke out.

"Now, if that was all, I'm going to go now, Amy. We have a lot of work to do, and none of her children bothered to show up."

With that, her mother hung up, leaving Amy devastated.

* * *

Amy took a shower after the conversation with her mother, and didn't really bother to dress afterwards. Clad in a pair of panties and a tank top, she moved back to the couch. She didn't have many personal belongings with her – most of them where still stored at her parents' – but she did have a photo album from her youth.

She was looking at pictures of Aunt Flora and herself, and reminisced. She could almost smell the cloud of Chanel no. 5 that always surrounded her.

Amy had no idea how much time she had spent on the couch, alternating between crying and having tea and looking at pictures. It was dark out though.

All of a sudden, a series of knocks sounded at her door.

Amy got up of the couch, ready to open the door, when she realised she was basically dressed in her underwear. She moved back to the couch to grab a throw to put around her and called out to whoever was at the door.

"Who is it?"

She dropped the throw in shock when she received the answer.

"It's Sheldon."

Amy didn't know what surprised her more, the fact that Doctor Cooper was at her door, or the fact that he announced himself by his first name.

Deciding he had already seen more of her than the average physician, she didn't bother putting the throw around her. She opened the door, and gave him a blank look. She figured she must be quite a sight, her face puffy and blotched from crying, her hair tangled and an outfit that would put Penny to shame.

Doctor Cooper looked at her, uncomprehendingly. "Miss Fowler," he halted, "are you ill?"

Amy rolled her eyes, and turned around, taking a seat on the couch. He would probably let himself in anyway. _Wouldn't be the first time. _And surely, Doctor Cooper entered her studio, and closed the door behind him.

"No, I'm not ill," she replied for good measure.

His eyes swept over her form. Amy couldn't even care anymore what he thought of her current appearance. What was he doing here anyway?

"Why are you here?" she asked, crossing her arms under her breasts. He could probably tell she wasn't wearing a bra.

"We had an appointment this afternoon to discuss your paper and you didn't show," he said, his eyes looked anywhere but her practically naked body, "when I called you, you didn't answer."

Amy looked over at her phone. She had silenced it hours ago. She didn't assume anyone would miss her. She wasn't that special after all. "And when I didn't answer, you decided to just come over?" she asked, her voice laced with incredulity.

Doctor Cooper didn't even flinch. "When you didn't answer the third time, and you hadn't even seen the messages I sent you last night, I figured something might me amiss. A bobcat has been spotted in this neighbourhood, you know."

Amy just shrugged at his excuses.

"Are you upset about the performance review? Because that teeth remark was a joke."

Amy just glared at him.

"Not the review then," Doctor Cooper said quietly and took a seat next to her. He looked at the open photo album on the coffee table in front of them. "Will you tell me why you're upset?"

Amy really didn't want to. Why did he even pretend to be interested in her personal life? She had decided she would put a stop to whatever it was they were doing anyway.

But she felt naked dressed like she was, and wanted him to leave. She might as well tell him. Maybe the emotions would scare him off. Hadn't Penny once said he couldn't handle other people's feelings?

"My great-aunt passed away the day before yesterday and my mother informed me by text message," she muttered, the words catching in her throat. Tears welled up in her eyes. Stating it outright made it even more real somehow.

Amy turned away from his penetrating gaze.

"My condolences," Doctor Cooper said, but it sounded rehearsed. "Were you close?"

"Who? Me and my mother? Or me and Aunt Flora?" Amy snapped.

Doctor Cooper just looked back at her. The screen on her phone lit up.

_Incoming call  
Bernadette_

"Are you going to answer that?" Doctor Cooper asked.

Amy just shrugged. She didn't want to talk to anyone. Let alone, repeat the news of Aunt Flora. Saying it out loud was inexplicably difficult.

"Bernadette," Doctor Cooper had taken the phone from the table and had the audacity to answer. Amy looked at him in shock. He seemed unperturbed as he listened to Bernadette's inquiries on the other end.

"No, she's alright. There's really no need to come over," he looked at her, his eyes posing the unasked question if she wanted company, Amy shook her head. "There's been a death in the family."

Amy could hear the high pitched noises Bernadette made through the earpiece of the phone.

"No, I just got here," Doctor Cooper answered. "That's really all I know. I'm sure she will contact you when she wants to talk."

Bernadette had said something that made him roll his eyes. "Of course I'm being nice, Bernadette. My mother taught me how to deal with someone upset. In fact, I'm going to hang up now to make a hot beverage. Goodbye."

He hung up almost angrily, and walked over to the kitchenette. Amy watched him fill the electric kettle with water. It seemed he wouldn't be leaving any time soon.

"I see you haven't purchased any chamomile since the last time I was here," Doctor Cooper spoke up, looking at her. "Would you prefer peppermint or Earl Grey?"

Amy cleared her throat. "Earl Grey, please," she mumbled.

He busied himself with the mugs and bags of tea.

Doctor Cooper sighed deeply suddenly, and his voice sounded hoarse when he spoke up.

"Would you mind putting on some more clothes? Your current appearance is causing a physical reaction completely inappropriate for the conversation we're about to have."

Amy blushed. The grief had numbed her, but his words still set her body ablaze.

She got up and walked over to her dresser. She pulled out a random t-shirt and a pair of leggings and put them on as she sat down on her bed. She returned to the couch and accepted the mug from Doctor Cooper's hands.

"Were you and your great-aunt close?" he asked again. He sat down as far away as possible from her on the couch. Amy figured he needed the physical distance.

"Yes," Amy muttered, suddenly realising how cold her hands were in comparison to the cup of tea she was holding. "I never knew my grandmother. Aunt Flora was her sister. She took me under her wing and treated me like one of her own grandchildren."

Doctor Cooper had stilled next to her. "She was like your Meemaw then?"

"My what?" Amy looked back at him confused. He seemed rather upset.

"I'm sorry, I should elaborate. I call my grandmother Meemaw," he said. He looked away, and the tone of his voice was soft when he continued. "I can see why her passing upset you. I don't know _how _I'd respond to Meemaw dying."

Amy didn't know why, but his honesty struck a nerve with her, and suddenly, she couldn't stop talking.

"Aunt Flora always smells like Chanel," Amy murmured, "and since she moved into the nursing home, it's Chanel combined with mothballs and Purell. Whenever she would hug me, the scent would engulf me and somehow stay in my nose for days. It felt like I was still with her, days after visiting her."

Amy flushed. _Why was she telling him this? _

But Doctor Cooper reached over and grasped her hand. He squeezed it softly.

"And she had this musical jewellery box, one where you have to tighten the screw at the back? Then, if you open it, the figurine inside it would turn. It had this ballerina inside, and she danced to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake," her voice caught.

"That's a lovely tune," Doctor Cooper muttered.

"Yes," Amy replied bitterly, "I would have liked to have it as a keepsake, but my mother already threw it out."

The grip on her hand tightened. "Didn't she know you wanted it?"

"Oh, I bet she did," Amy muttered darkly, "Mom always hated how close we were. Aunt Flora and I would conspire against her, she'd say. She and Uncle George were always encouraging me to do well in school, but stay true to myself. My mother wanted me to study to be a doctor – of medicine, not the kind I'm studying for. But I choose the hard sciences and she always resented Aunt Flora for it. And now, Mom can use her death as a way to get back at me at last."

Amy laughed bitterly, but wanted to hit something instead. She was so angry with her mother.

"I guess I'm finally realising the truth in what she's told me all along. I'm not special or likeable."

She had been the biggest bully of all, Amy suddenly realised.

The realisation hit her like a ton of bricks.

Hot tears fell from her cheeks, and she shook with shock and anger.

The grip on her hand loosened, and suddenly, she was pulled by her waist, flush against Doctor Cooper's chest. She gasped at the impact, but grasped his shirt with both hands, breathing in his scent. His hands moved in soft caresses over her hair and back.

"I'm so sorry, Amy," he muttered in her ear. Amy's heart skipped a beat. _He was calling her 'Amy' again. _

"No mother should ever treat her child like this," he continued softly, "you are a smart, intelligent, young woman. Your aunt Flora must have been so proud of you."

Amy sobbed on his shoulder. She was pawning him, trying to get even closer. He was just so _warm_ and his words were just what she needed to hear now.

A confirmation that she mattered.

"I'm not good with expressing emotions, but it pains me to see you like this. This is not the confident girl I've come to know the last few weeks," he paused, "and I don't know what this nonsense about you not being special or likeable is about. You are the first woman I've come across to rile me up the way you do, and I've yet to meet someone who wasn't completely charmed by you from the first moment they met you."

Her heart felt warm when his words registered. She sighed into his chest, the now familiar smell of fabric softener and talcum powder made her stomach churn. What was he saying? Had she charmed him?

"Don't let anyone, even your mother, stop you from doing what you want to do in life," his voice was low, and his breath felt hot against her ear.

Amy pulled back from his chest, and blinked up at him. His hand moved to her cheek and wiped away the tears there. He was looking at her intensely. Amy held her breath.

There was a shift in the air around them.

She knew she shouldn't, not after her earlier contemplations, but she needed it. Needed him. _Craved _him.

And hadn't he just said she shouldn't let anyone stop her from doing what she wanted in life?

She made up her mind. She shifted on the couch, grasped his shoulders and straddled his lap quickly. Doctor Cooper looked at her with wide eyes. His hands had automatically gone to her thighs. Amy bit her lip, her heart almost beat out of her chest. Her eyes moved to his lips.

Doctor Cooper gripped her thighs firmly. "Amy…" he muttered softly.

Amy couldn't take it anymore. She crashed her mouth against his. Kissing him like she hadn't ever done before. Hard, controlling. Rough. Passionate.

He groaned underneath her. His tongue swept across her lips, and she met him halfway. This tongue had done some wicked things to her just days before, and the memory made her moan in his mouth.

Amy ground down on the growing bulge between her legs, moving against him, desperate for some friction. She had gotten really aroused really fast.

Doctor Cooper held her legs still, and bucked up against her. Amy mewled.

_He wanted her. _She could feel it. Someone wanted her. And not just someone, Doctor Cooper. A man she was steadily developing feelings for that went further than just lust. And hadn't he sort of confessed to being into her just now?

Their mouths kept moving over each other, hot and wet and desperate.

Amy pulled his hands from her legs and brought them up to cover her breasts. Doctor Cooper breathed hard through his nose. She still didn't wear a bra, and his fingers found her nipples easily, pinching and twisting.

Amy lifted herself up slightly, and went to loosen the belt on Doctor Cooper's pants.

He pulled away, panting harshly. "Amy, stop."

Amy recoiled, and moved to climb of his lap, but he held her flush against him.

"Amy," he started, and turned her head so she had no choice but to look at him.

His eyes bore through her once again.

"You're upset. We shouldn't do this now."

Amy swallowed thickly, her heart constricted. He was right. She looked away from his face, ashamed for her loss of control just now.

But she just wanted to _feel_. The entire day she had felt numb. Drained from crying and the emotional pain her mother caused her.

She let out a shuddering breath.

Doctor Cooper pulled her face closer to his and pressed a soft kiss to her mouth.

"I'm not making love to you tonight," he murmured. "But I can make you feel good, if you'll let me."

_To be continued _


	21. Seductions

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 20**

**Seductions**

_Doctor Cooper pulled her face closer to his and pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. _

_"I'm not making love to you tonight," he murmured. "But I can make you feel good, if you'll let me." _

Amy's heart fluttered in her chest. She wanted to feel good. She needed to feel good. Needed to feel, period.

She didn't know how to respond. Should she kiss him again to express her consent?

Doctor Cooper's eyes roamed over her face, as if he was waiting for her. Apparently she took too long to answer.

He pressed another kiss to her lips, and then lifted her off his lap. He got up and not-so subtly moved his hand to his pants to readjust his erection. Amy watched him walk over to the kitchenette.

Had she missed her chance?

"Have you eaten?" he asked.

"A little," Amy muttered. She suddenly realised she didn't even know what time it was. Her eyes shifted to the oven clock and to her surprise it was already well past 8 at night. Her stomach growled with sudden hunger.

Doctor Cooper was looking through the cabinets. Amy knew there wasn't a lot in there.

"I'll make you something to eat," he said. "Why don't you go and get back to Bernadette? She sounded worried."

Amy looked at him. He had taken out a can of soup, a pot, bread and a frying pan. She watched him loosen the cuffs of his shirt and roll up the sleeves to his elbows. Her stomach constricted. There was something weirdly sexy about these rolled-up sleeves. She could see the tendons in his arms move as he stirred the soup.

Grabbing her phone, and moving away from the couch, Amy walked over to her bed and sat down. There was no way to have total privacy in the small studio, but at least this way, she could speak as quietly as possible without Doctor Cooper overhearing too much.

Amy nearly dropped her phone in shock. She had a total of nine missed calls. Three of those were from Doctor Cooper, four from Bernadette, one from Penny and one from her parents' home number.

Figuring her mother would probably text again if she wanted something, Amy opened her texts first.

Her mother had texted her. It was details about the funeral that Saturday and the request Amy would read a passage from the Bible. Apparently, Aunt Flora had left instructions for the funeral and had requested Amy to speak.

Amy swallowed away the lump in her throat. Tears welled up again, and she let them fall.

Bernadette and Penny had each texted her individually about ten different texts, and their group chat was filled with conversation between the two of them. Amy skimmed through it. First, there were questions where she was and why she wasn't responding. Then came the panic and the threats; if she wouldn't respond in half an hour, they would call the police or come by.

The texts that followed lightened Amy's spirits a little.

_Bernadette_  
_I'm calling you again, Amy. If you still don't answer, I'm coming over_

_Penny_  
_It's been like a day now. Maybe we should call the police? Was I out of line with that question about Sheldon yesterday? Cuz I only want whats best for u 2_

_Bernadette_  
_She's alright_

_Penny_  
_Oh thank God! You talked to her then?_

_Bernadette_  
_No, I talked to Sheldon. He answered her phone…_

_Penny_  
_Are you kidding me?_

_Bernadette_  
_Nope *wink* _

_Penny_  
_You mean we've been worried sick while they were doing the nasty all day?!_

_Bernadette_  
_Hahahaha. No! It's not like that_

_Penny_  
_What is it then?_

_Bernadette_  
_Sheldon said someone in the family had died. He's taking care of her_

_Penny_  
_Aw, Amy I'm so sorry_

_Bernadette_  
_Yes. If there's anything we can do, just let us know ok? We're here for you_

_Penny_  
_Yes! Absolutely! But I think Sheldon can take care of you in a much better way now… hehe_

_Bernadette_  
_Haha! So true. You let him pamper you, Amy. Call me when you can! XOXO_

_Penny_  
_Kisses! _

Amy smiled at her phone. Not because of the obvious innuendoes – well, maybe be little – but more for the affection she felt for the both of them. They had been seriously worried about her. It brought tears in her eyes again, but not of sadness, but because she let her mother get into her head so much she doubted herself to a point she didn't know what was true anymore.

Amy dialled Bernadette's number, and watched Doctor Cooper work around in her kitchen. The smell of grilled cheese hung in the air.

"Amy!" Bernadette shrieked as she answered, "oh my God! I've been so worried about you today. Don't ever do that again!"

Amy smiled. "I'm sorry, Bernie," she muttered, willing Doctor Cooper not to overhear, "I was just really upset. My great-aunt died, and it stirred up all kinds of thoughts and emotions. I didn't think you'd worry about me.."

"Why wouldn't we be worried about you?" Bernadette interjected, incredulously. "Of course we were! I was so happy when Sheldon said you were okay."

Amy smiled more broadly now, and looked on as Doctor Cooper filled a bowl with soup and took the grilled cheese sandwich out of the frying pan.

He looked up at her, and Amy felt her stomach flutter.

"I am okay," Amy muttered, "Doctor Cooper's taking care of me. I actually think my dinner's about ready now."

"Sheldon made you dinner?" Bernadette sounded surprised. "And don't you think it's time you start calling him Sheldon by now? You may not have told me everything, Amy, but something happened. I could see it between the two of you last night."

"Oh, he's calling me over right now! Gotta go," Amy quickly hung up before she had to answer these awkward questions.

She walked over to the kitchen. Doctor Cooper had just finished carving a smiley face in the grilled cheese sandwich.

"Hey," she murmured. Doctor Cooper looked up, holding a tray with the bowl of soup and the grilled cheese on a plate.

"Hello," he said. He look at her face and, noticing she had been crying again, added, "are you alright?"

Amy nodded, and wiped her cheeks. "Is that for me?" she asked, trying to fill the silence between them.

"Yes," Doctor Cooper answered, obviously wondering why she asked. He walked it over to the table where her laptop and books lay. Amy quickly followed and moved them out of the way, making room for her dinner.

It was delicious. Even the soup, which just came from a can, tasted heavenly. The grilled cheese was just the right combination of crispy bread and gooey, melted cheese. Amy couldn't help but moan in appreciation as she ate.

Doctor Cooper seemed to watch her to make sure she was eating, because once she started, he busied himself looking through the papers on her desk. He was going through the syllabus of his own class, looking at the notes she made in the margins and next to the instructions for the Euler-Lagrange equation paper.

"You don't know your own syllabus?" Amy asked, between bites of her sandwich.

Doctor Cooper gave her a look. "Of course I do," he said, "but I'm curious to see what my students think of it. I always ask for feedback at the end of a semester, but people hardly respond. While I think I've written a comprehensive instruction, it would appear it's not. Without my students telling me, I'll never adjust it accordingly."

Amy nodded. She wondered what she had written. She was only glad there were no 'i's in either of their names for her to dot with a little heart, like she used to do with crushes in high school.

"Right," she said. "I thought it was pretty clear."

"Not clear enough," Doctor Cooper said, "seeing how you interpreted the instructions here, explains while you received a failing grade. You misinterpreted part B of the assignment, which caused mistakes in the rest of the paper as well."

"Oh," Amy replied. Then she suddenly realised something.

"So you _do _remember everything you had written on my paper?" she asked him teasingly. "That one time in your office, you said I had to bring a hard copy of my paper around, otherwise we wouldn't be able to discuss it?"

Doctor Cooper flushed. Red blotches appeared on his cheeks. He put the syllabus down and looked at her.

"I have an eidetic memory, I remember everything," he said, "and you were not there to discuss the paper at all. You were there to get a rise out of me. I was just giving you a taste of your own medicine."

He was looking at her intensely. Daring her to contradict him.

It was Amy's turn to blush.

"I just wanted my panties back," she muttered.

"You mean you didn't leave them in my bathroom on purpose?" he asked, sounding surprised. He was teasing her. He had to be.

"N-no," she mumbled, blushing.

Doctor Cooper's eyes sparkled. "You could have fooled me, Amy," he muttered. "I don't have them on me _right now_. I guess you'll just have to come by my house sometime. If you play your cards right, I'll give them back."

Amy felt warm all over, and not because of the hot soup she just ate. _Was he inviting her over to his house? _

"Okay," she whispered.

Doctor Cooper was gazing at her, his eyes looking through her once again. There was a slight smile at the corners of his mouth. "Good," he murmured.

The heat of his gaze warmed her entire body.

Amy was afraid to blink. She was breathing shallowly.

Doctor Cooper cleared his throat and looked away. He got up and gathered the dirty dishes, bringing them back to the kitchen and turning on the faucet. He continued to scrub them clean.

Amy sighed. Perhaps it was better to _not _let the tension escalate again. He had been right to stop her before. But what was it that he'd said?

_"I'm not making love to you tonight." _

Amy stared at the wall. _Making love_. She hadn't realised it then, but 'making love' sounded a lot different than whatever wild fantasy she had had. It sounded like there were actual feelings involved.

She quickly tried to divert her thoughts. The possibility that he had actual feelings for her scared her. But, why else would he be here? He had said she was charming that very afternoon. That she was smart and confident.

Her stomach filled with what could only be described as butterflies.

_"But I can make you feel good, if you'll let me." _

What did he mean? _Oh, Amy, don't play dumb now_, she berated herself. She knew exactly what he could mean with that statement. Especially after Monday. Oh my God. Had it been only two days ago that she had had the most intense orgasm of her life? That day would forever be ingrained in her memories.

Amy suddenly inhaled sharply as the realisation hit her.

She had been on her knees sucking her teacher's dick dressed up like some dirty Catholic schoolgirl, while her Aunt Flora was found dead in her bed.

Tears blurred her vision. The unexpected pain around her heart was making her gasp for breath. _Aunt Flora. _The music box. Chanel no. 5. Those hugs. The whispers and the giggles.

_Never again. _

Amy was sobbing fully now. She let her head fall in her hands, heaving and gasping. Big, fat tears fell from her eyes into her palms and onto her legs.

Doctor Cooper's hand on her shoulder startled her. She had been so caught up in her grief, she had almost forgotten he was there. "Ssshh," he hummed, and pulled her head to his chest. He must have crouched down next to her. Amy pulled on his shirt, wanting him closer to her.

All of a sudden, she was airborne. With one hand under her knees, and the other around her waist, he carried her bridal-style towards her bed.

Amy gasped in his neck. His breathing was laboured, probably from the strain of carrying her.

"You can put me down," she mumbled between tears, feeling uncomfortable. She wasn't overweight, but she certainly wasn't skinny like his alleged ex.

He didn't put her down. Once he reached her bed, he turned around and sat down, pulling her closer to him in his lap.

Amy still held the lapels of his shirt in a tight grip as she cried softly now. He smelled so comforting, she burrowed her face in his neck. This wasn't the first time he had held her when she cried. She remembered that evening with Zack. How many weeks ago was that? So much had happened between them.

His hand moved in comforting strokes over her back, the other had a firm grip on her leg. His thumb moved in circles over her legging-clad thigh.

It was more stimulating than comforting.

Her tears had stopped now, and she shifted in his lap.

She pulled on his shirt, pressing her upper body against his. Her nipples had already hardened. He must be able to feel it. The strokes on her back stopped and the grip on her leg tightened.

Amy gathered up all her courage, and pressed a kiss to neck. And another. And another.

Doctor Cooper groaned softly.

He pulled back and held her head with his hand. He gave her a stern look.

"Amy," he said, exhaling loudly. "We shouldn't."

Amy licked her lips. "Why not?" she muttered. _What happened to 'making her feel good'? _

Doctor Cooper looked at her disbelievingly. "You know why, Amy," he muttered, and moved a lock of her hair out of her face, behind her ear. His touch on her ear made her squirm in his lap. She was finally feeling something good again. After such a long day of feeling worthless and awful.

She moved into him, and pressed her lips against his. "I'm not asking for… you know," she whispered between kisses, "but I just want to feel _something_." She probably wasn't making sense. Doctor Cooper wasn't kissing her back.

In one final desperate attempt to convince him, she pulled his head close and kissed him deeply.

"Please," she muttered.

Amy yelped as she flew through the air; Doctor Cooper having thrown her from his lap onto the bed. She barely had a chance to look him in the eye before his mouth was devouring her. He crawled on top of her, kissing her thoroughly, while he pushed her legs apart and settled his lower body between them.

Amy instinctively moved her legs around his hips, and pulled him into her. Their tongues met between their mouths, stroking one another. Amy mewled when she felt the bulge pressing hard between her legs. The leggings she wore provided nearly no barrier.

Doctor Cooper pulled back from her face, he had caged her in with his elbows next to her head. He thrusted against her again, looking in her eyes as he did so. Amy inhaled sharply at the intensity of his gaze combined with the feel of him between her legs.

He pushed into her once more, and shifted to his side. His hand moved to palm her breast through her clothes. Amy moaned.

His mouth was on her neck, kissing and sucking on the sensitive skin there.

Amy pawned at his arms, moving her hips in tandem with his. Meeting him, rubbing herself against him.

"Fuck, Amy, I can't say no to you," he breathed in her ear, "you vixen."

Amy felt even more arousal pool between her legs. He pinched her nipple roughly and she keened, arching against him.

Doctor Cooper pulled back from her, and sat back on his haunches, catching his breath. Amy looked up at him. Her panties were uncomfortably damp. The feeling of his erect member pressing against her had her almost reaching orgasm. He looked incredibly sexy, watching her from above, her legs spread out on each side of him.

"Tell me what you want, Amy," he asked, his voice low, his hands on the waistband of her leggings.

Amy breathed deeply. She saw his eyes shift to her breasts as they moved with each breath she took.

"Doc-Doct-," she stuttered, delirious with want.

"_No_," he interrupted her, "we're not in a classroom, Amy. There's no need to address me as such."

Her breathing halted.

Amy stared at him. She swallowed and let out a shuddering breath. "O-okay," she whispered.

He bent down again, and kissed her. His tongue swept in her mouth, and she met him hesitantly. It felt noticeably different than it felt before.

The power balance between them had shifted.

Amy moved her hands back to his head, holding onto him when she kissed him back with vigour. She felt his erection between her legs once more and she bucked up against him. His thrusts hit just the right spot and she pulled back from him, panting. The stimulation made her cry out softly with each thrust.

"What do you want, Amy?" he asked again, his voice sounded strained.

She didn't know how to convey her thoughts. She wanted him. Whatever he wanted to do to her, she was game. _Anything_, to help her get passed this horrible day and end it on a good note. She was almost there already.

"You," she breathed.

He pushed against her again. His thrusts were driving her crazy, but it wasn't enough to get her there. Her frustration was rapidly building.

"Please, Sheldon," she mumbled.

He groaned loudly in her ear at the sound of his first name. "Yesss," he hissed.

He moved back from her again, and quickly pulled on her leggings. Amy moved her legs inwards, so he would be able to pull them off of her. He pulled off her panties simultaneously.

He fell down next to her, and pulled her face close his. Their mouths moved over each other, kissing and pushing and pulling.

Amy felt his hand move down, from her neck to her breasts, her stomach. His hand grazed her inner thighs softly. Amy squirmed under his ministrations.

She had been clear in what she wanted. Why was he still teasing her?

"Sheldon," she moaned, pleadingly.

He groaned in her ear. "I want to hear you scream my name like that when I make you come, Amy."

Her stomach dropped. His voice was so low, demanding. She liked it.

His hand moved and slipped through her folds. Amy moaned. If it was because of his requests or the stimulation she craved so, she couldn't even tell anymore. He pushed one finger inside her, and she moved against his hand.

"Is this what you want?" he was slowly moving his finger inside her.

It wasn't enough.

Amy was trembling under him. He knew she needed more. This wasn't his first time touching her like this. Didn't he say he had an eidetic memory? Surely, he was teasing her again.

"Do you want me to beg again?" she huffed semi-angrily, frustrated beyond reason now.

"I can't say I don't like it," he chuckled. "But right now, I want you to tell me what you want." He showered her neck with kisses, his fingers slowly moving over her but never quite enough.

"Do you want more of this?" he asked, positioning another finger at her entrance, slowly moving it inside her. Amy mewled.

"Or do you want _this_?" His thumb brushed over her clit.

Amy arched up from the bed with a yelp.

"Or do you want my mouth on you?" he spoke lowly in her ear. Her muscles contracted around his fingers in response, pulling them in further. He grunted.

Amy shivered. "Yes," she panted.

He didn't need to be told twice. He pressed a final kiss underneath her ear, and quickly moved downwards, positioning himself between her legs.

He had to hold down her hips as he licked her. Amy bit her lip to keep from screaming too loud. His mouth moved over her – and if she thought he devoured her when he kissed her mouth, there were no words for what he did when he kissed her _down there. _

Amy panted and her entire body shook in anticipation of what was to come.

She had been high strung for so long now, it didn't take her long to get there. His tongue moved over her, licking her, moaning as he did, his lips covering her clit. He sucked her hard, his fingers pumping into her at a menacing pace.

Amy shuddered as her orgasm took over. The blissful feeling almost rendered her speechless, until she remembered his request.

"Sheldon!" she mewled. She convulsed on his fingers, and he kept licking her. She felt the vibrations of him moaning against her. Slowly, she came down and she tried to catch her breath.

His fingers pressed on that spot inside her once more, and the feeling that had just stopped was rapidly coming back. The tingles moving from inside her, to her fingers, her toes, her chest.

Amy's eyes shot open when she realised she was coming _again_.

"Aaah," she gasped, as stars exploded behind her eyes and inside of her. Her hands moved on their own accord; one held his head steady against her, the other grasping her sheets in a firm grip.

With one final swipe of his tongue against her clit, she shuddered against him.

She fell back against her mattress, heaving and completely sated. She didn't know how long she lay there, but when she came to, Sheldon was sitting next to her on the bed. His hand softly stroked her hair.

Amy blinked at him. She was suddenly very tired.

He bent down and kissed her lips. "Better?" he asked, grinning at her smugly.

Amy blushed, and playfully smacked his arm. "Yes," she breathed.

"Good," Sheldon whispered. He brushed a lock of stray hair from her face again and muttered, "I should go."

Amy inhaled, blinking away the sudden tears in her eyes. Her stomach constricted uncomfortably. _He didn't want to stay. _

She felt exposed. She was still naked from the waist down, and she tried to cross her legs. They felt like lead. She was sore already. She sat up and hugged her legs close to her.

The silence between them was stretching far too long.

"Okay," she muttered finally, looking away from him. Perhaps she should have reciprocated, or something. Maybe he would have wanted to stay the night then.

The tears didn't fall until he closed the door behind him.

She had really missed her chance this time.

_To be continued_

**A/N I love all of your reactions to my writing. My chapters are getting longer with each one I write. Hopefully , it makes up for this chapter's end. **

**Let me know your thoughts. **


	22. Verifications

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 21**

**Verifications**

Amy awoke surprisingly well-rested the next day. Despite the new wave of tears, she had been so emotionally exhausted, fatigue had claimed her quickly. Those two incredible orgasms had helped her sleep as well.

Amy looked at her phone. It was only six in the morning. There was no need to get up yet. She had multiple texts in the group chat with the girls.

_Penny  
We just heard Sheldon come home – its the middle of the night_

_Penny  
Leonard went to talk to him_

_Penny  
I'm trying to listen through the wall_

_Bernadette  
I'm awake now. It's midnight… wtf? _

_Penny  
Leonard is telling him off. Cant be sure what he's saying tho_

_Bernadette  
Amy, did he stay with you this late? You could have offered him a place to sleep_

_Penny  
Sheldons yelling as well. I think Leonards coming back. Ill see what I can get out of him_

_Bernadette  
Keep us posted!_

_Penny  
Will do_

Amy looked through the conversation again. Would Leonard be telling him off for leaving her by herself? She'd like to think so.

He hadn't texted her. Suddenly, she remembered he had e-mailed her the day before. She opened her e-mail and scrolled down until she found the one she was looking for: _Performance review._

_Ms. Fowler,_

_Please see attached. Should you have any remarks or would like to discuss your grade, please inform me thusly within 48 hours. _

_Without notice I will assume you have no comments and agree with my findings wholeheartedly. _

_Regards,_

_S.L. Cooper, PhD_

He really did write a review. Amy let out a hesitant breath and clicked on the attached pdf.

**Performance review**

**Reviewer: Dr. S.L. Cooper, PhD  
Reviewee: Ms. A.F. Fowler**

**Performance reviewed: Fellatio **

_On Monday, December 9th, after around 5 minutes of manual stimulation, Ms A.F. Fowler performed fellatio on Dr. S. L. Cooper for approximately 13 minutes. The overall performance receives a passing grade of 7/10, or B minus. _

_Listed below overall findings and points of improvement. _

_General findings  
__Ms Fowler exceeded the original expectations of mainly manual stimulation,  
She displayed an ability to adjust to the situation at hand rapidly and abide by the wishes of the recipient,  
She committed to continuously learn by following the instructions adequately,  
It should be noted that her willingness to have the recipient ejaculate in her mouth was highly appreciated – as expressed through the cunnilingus performed by recipient on that same afternoon._

_Points of improvement  
__Dr Cooper encourages Ms Fowler to start practising fellatio, for example on a banana; it will help her to learn to cover her incisors with her lips fully next time,  
The overall performance lacked a certain confidence by Ms Fowler; in general, recipient prefers a more resolute approach to fellatio,  
The displayed enthusiasm to reach the wanted goal and obvious devotion to please recipient more than make up for her lack of skills,  
Recipient is convinced Ms Fowler will be able to improve her skills by more practice, since she has proven to be quite talented when listening to the instructions given._

_Final Grade  
__Based on the reasons listed above, the performance is reviewed at 7 out of 10, or B minus. _

_Reviewer is open to help Ms Fowler further develop her oral skills, and would hypothetically also recommend her talents to others – were it not for the fact that he wants this privilege for himself exclusively. _

* * *

It wasn't until Amy was at the lab that Penny finally elaborated on the talk between the two men. Well, didn't as much elaborate, but state that Leonard told him off and that's all he said to her about it. She tried to bug him, but he wouldn't let up.

Amy really couldn't be bothered much. After reading the review, she had to take a moment to let the information sink in. He had written the review like he had assessed her blowjob as some sort of assignment. Reading his business-like and clinical words about something very illicit was strangely arousing.

And in the last paragraph, he had downright stated that he wanted her to do it again. And also that he wanted her for himself. He had called it a privilege. _A privilege_. To have her do something so intimate to him?

Amy couldn't say she hadn't liked it – although she did prefer what _he_ did to _her _– but she did like the power she held over him while she 'performed', so to speak. The sounds of approval he made still resonated in her head.

Amy was looking out of the window sipping her coffee thinking it over. He had basically written that he wanted her. She should be thrilled. Yet she wasn't. Not after he had left her alone in her bed last night.

But it wasn't as if she had asked him to stay either, she reasoned. But still. You don't just come over to someone's house unannounced, comfort them, feed them, pleasure them and then leave without so much as a goodbye. Right?

"Amy!" Bernadette entered the lab, and walked over to her immediately. Amy barely had time to put down her coffee before Bernadette enveloped her in a bear hug. "I'm so sorry for your loss," she spoke softly, squeezing Amy to her.

Amy hugged her back, grateful for her friend. "Thank you," Amy replied.

"Was it sudden?" Bernadette asked.

"She died of old age, but it hurts all the same," Amy shrugged.

Bernadette gave a sympathetic smile. "When's the funeral?"

"The day after tomorrow," Amy replied, suddenly realising she needed to get 'something appropriate' to wear at the mall.

"My dad's picking me up, it's at her old church in Glendale," Amy continued, "I actually have to read out a psalm. Aunt Flora left instructions before she died."

Bernadette patted her arm. "It's nice you get to do that for her," she said. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Would you take me to the mall? My mom will kill me if I don't wear an all-black outfit," Amy answered.

"Of course," Bernadette smiled, "this afternoon?"

They continued to set up their work at the lab. Bernadette was analysing blood samples of the Capuchin's. Amy was busy writing out the results of the earlier experiments. She was so focussed on the differences in behaviour by the non-smoking and the smoking monkeys, that she almost didn't hear Bernadette's question.

"So, Amy," she spoke suggestively, "are you gonna tell me yourself what Sheldon was doing at your place last night, or do I have to use force to get it out of you?"

Amy blushed immediately.

"He came over because I didn't show up at this meeting we were supposed to have," Amy started, "and then I didn't answer my phone, so he - - "

"Yeah, skip that part," Bernadette interrupted her impatiently, "did he _take care_ of you yesterday?"

Amy felt as if her face was on fire. Bernadette stared at her, her face filled with glee. Amy looked away guiltily.

"Oh my God, Amy!" she screamed, high pitched.

She jumped out of her seat and practically ran over to her. "Tell me everything!"

"Well," Amy muttered, "he was really nice to me, listening to me talk about Aunt Flora and stuff. And then we kissed."

Bernadette gave her an incredulous look. "I don't think that's all you did, Amy Farrah Fowler," she spoke accusingly. "That hickey on your neck begs to differ."

Amy's eyes widened. "What?" Her hand immediately went to the side of her neck he had kissed her last night.

"It's not the best hickey I've seen in my lifetime," Bernadette elaborated, "but it's there nonetheless. So, what else happened?"

Amy gave her an awkward grin. She had never done this – sex talk with a girlfriend. It was fun.

"He went down on me," she whispered.

Bernadette's screams were so high-pitched that monkeys went berserk in the room next door.

"Bernie!" Amy whispered, "will you be quiet?"

"My, my, Doctor Cooper!" Bernadette was grinning at her. "How was it? I've always wondered if he's as good in bed as that skinny bitch claimed. She was always bragging about him, from what I understand from Howie."

Amy felt her stomach constrict uncomfortably at the mention of this Ramona again. She quickly tried to stop her mind from wandering too much.

"It was great," Amy answered truthfully, "really great."

Bernadette's eyes were shining. "Yeah, did you…?"

Amy nodded. "Twice."

Amy coughed awkwardly. She had never blushed this much in her life. Why did she feel this uncomfortable talking about it?

Bernadette gave her an impressed look. "Damn, Amy," she sounded jealous. "Good for you. You deserved it as well, after the day you had. Who knew Sheldon would step up like this? He must be really into you."

Amy's face fell. "Yeah, well, apparently he's not _that_ into me," she said, "he left right afterwards."

Bernadette looked at her quizzically. "Yeah, I've been thinking about that. Maybe he had to get up early today?"

Amy just shrugged. "Yeah, well. I have more important things to worry about. I gotta find an outfit for Saturday, and learn this psalm I have to read. And I have to mentally prepare myself to see my mother, really not looking forward to that."

Bernadette looked at her imploringly. "You want to talk to me about that?"

Amy really didn't want to talk about the messed up relationship she had with her mother. But Bernadette had proven to be such a good friend to her. She deserved to know.

And that is how they spent the rest of the morning. Blood samples forgotten, reports waiting to be written. Amy explained it all to Bernadette; her controlling mother, never letting her do what she wanted – no girl scouts, no earrings, no boys. How she was so much happier at Harvard, finally away from her and free to do what she wanted. But it was hard to shake the feeling of guilt she always had when she did something her mother didn't approve of. And also, after spending most of her life supervised by her mother, it was difficult to act appropriately in social situations.

"And she disliked Aunt Flora for having a much better bond with me than she had," Amy continued, "I can't believe I have to say goodbye to her. She used to be like a constant in my life; always there, you know. Warm and comforting. It's so sad that she's gone."

To her horror, she was crying again. Bernadette stroked her arm comfortingly.

"You know, if you want - -" Bernadette started, but was interrupted by a series of knocks on the door.

The both of them looked up at the guest at the door. Amy immediately felt her heartbeat quicken at the sight of him. He looked no different from the night before, yet seeing him _felt _different.

Was it the things he had done yesterday, or maybe the admissions in the performance review?

Amy didn't know how to address him. Was he still Doctor Cooper to her, or did she have a free pass to call him Sheldon any time now?

He cleared his throat. "Good afternoon," he said, "would you mind giving me and Miss Fowler a minute, Bernadette?"

_Back to last names then, _Amy thought, feeling annoyed with him already.

Bernadette raised her eyebrows at him. "No, go ahead," she said, and gave Amy's arm a final squeeze.

She grabbed her bag, and walked over to the door. "I'll go have lunch with Howie," she said to Amy, "join us when you're done, or give me a call if you want me to bring you something instead."

"Sure," Amy muttered, figuring it would be over soon anyway. She had little to say to the man who left her naked in bed, despite whatever praise he wrote about her in a fake performance review. Especially when it seemed they were back to addressing each other by their respective titles again.

Amy turned back around, facing her desk again. He could come over to her if he wanted to talk.

"Miss Fowler," he started, and it felt like a knife in the heart.

He was standing right behind her. She could feel it. She kept staring in front of her.

"Miss Fowler, I've come over to apologize for my behaviour last night."

That made her turn around. He looked taken aback at the anger in her eyes.

"And what behaviour are you apologizing for, _Doctor Cooper?_" she snapped.

He recoiled slightly at the tone in her voice. He had the decency to look down, as he explained. "I've been informed it's customary to stay the night after having… _relations_," he muttered.

His words caused a heatwave to go through her. Amy just looked at him. He hadn't apologized yet.

"I had assumed you would want to be by yourself after the day you had, and I didn't want to make the situation in the morning any more awkward…" he trailed off.

"Right," Amy said, crossing her arms, the irritation still evident in her voice.

"Forgive me," he said gravely, "it's been a while since I've… well. Let's just say, former endeavours were noticeably different and therefor the thought of staying the night didn't even cross my mind."

It wasn't much of an apology, and this explanation posed more questions than it answered. What did he mean, _former endeavours_?

Amy didn't know how to respond to this.

So, she did the only thing that she knew for certain would shift the air between them to a place she had become familiar with:_ blatant flirtations_.

"You left so quickly, Doctor Cooper, that you didn't even give me a chance to 'practice my oral skills' in return," she said suggestively, licking her upper lip on purpose.

He was trying to figure her out, she could tell by the look in his eyes. His jaw ticked.

"Yesterday was not the time for you to do anything in return, Amy," he spoke firmly, "I do hope that is clear."

He was calling her Amy again. She looked back at him, unsure what was happening right now.

"I should let you get to lunch," he said with a certain air of finality, "I'll see you later." He moved down swiftly, and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of her mouth.

Amy sat in a daze until her phone buzzed with Bernadette's incoming call. What had just happened?

* * *

The ride to Holy Trinity Catholic Church was silent. She was picked up by her father after all. He never spoke much. Amy sometimes wondered if it was because of her mother. Perhaps he figured, the less he said, the less she had to criticize him for.

Amy looked at her lap. The dress Bernadette had picked out was tighter than anything she owned, but it reached her knees and had sleeves, so it was appropriate enough for church. She wore black pantyhose. Her feet already hurt from wearing pumps. If it weren't for the solemn air surrounding her, she could have easily been dressed up for a night out.

Bernadette had explained this is what her Aunt Flora would have wanted, because she would piss off her mother like this. She was absolutely right. Her mother wouldn't be able to say anything nasty about it, since they were in church. It was fool proof, really.

Amy walked side by side with her father to the front of the small church.

The coffin was positioned at the front of the church already, right beneath the figurine displaying Jesus Christ on the cross. An ornate bouquet of flowers lay atop it. A handful of people sat in the pews. Her family was seated in the front. Since Aunt Flora wasn't exactly the youngest, Amy really hadn't expected a lot of people to show up.

Amy took a deep breath and walked over to her mother. "Hello Mom," she said.

Her mother's eyes widened when she took in her appearance. "Amy!" she gasped, affronted, "I told you to dress appropriately."

Aunt Flora's younger brother, Uncle Geoffrey, sat next to her mother. "I think she looks lovely," he said, smiling a little too brightly at her. Uncle Geoffrey had always been a kind of dirty uncle. But right now, Amy really appreciated his comment.

Amy took a seat next to her mother, and focussed on the organ playing softly.

It felt strange, saying goodbye to an empty shell in a coffin. She suddenly wished she could have gone to the funeral home, to say goodbye to the lifeless body of her aunt. Maybe it would have made it more real somehow. It all felt strangely fake to her still.

The priest entered the church and the organ played louder. Amy listened only a little to whatever he said. She wasn't religious herself - she was a scientist after all, and all his talk of her Aunt Flora being called back to the heavens brought her little comfort.

Her cold mother to her right and her silent father to her left, brought her no comfort at all.

As the organ played Amazing Grace, she suddenly found herself crying. They were all encouraged to sing along, but she could only murmur the lyrics. The grief overpowered her.

The priest called her over to do her reading, and Amy stood up on shaky legs.

_I can't do this. _

She got up to the pulpit, took a deep breath and began to read. For Aunt Flora. It was the last thing she had asked her to do, and she would not deny her this last request. _Why was this so hard? _

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want," she started, her voice breaking. She looked up at the priest, ready to call it quits, when her eye caught a small group of people in the back of the church. Her breath caught in her throat.

At one of the back pews, three people sat side by side. Penny and Bernadette were both dressed in black dresses. They gave her soft encouraging smiles. Next to Bernadette, in a most immaculate black suit, sat Doctor Cooper.

He gave her a soft nod, intending her to continue.

The warmth spread across her chest like wildfire. Amy swallowed away the dryness in her throat and continued with renewed strength.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul… "

_To be continued_

**A/N I cannot express my appreciation of your continued support enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you.**

**For those interested; I started a companion piece on this story from Sheldon's point of view: _The Professor Insights. _**


	23. Assumptions

**Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. **

**Hereby my Christmas gift to you. Probably the last in about a month – I'll be traveling and won't be writing. I hope to return filled with fried rice and inspiration.**

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 22**

**Assumptions**

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever," Amy finished the psalm with only a little tremor in her voice.

She looked up at the pews, and saw Bernadette and Penny dabbing their eyes with handkerchiefs. Doctor Cooper was looking at her strangely. She let out a shaky breath and walked over to the coffin.

She lay her hand on top of it. The wood felt smooth underneath her fingers. There were peonies in the floral arrangement that lay at the head, and Amy felt her heart constrict. Aunt Flora loved peonies. She would have liked this.

"Thank you for everything, Aunt Flora," Amy whispered quietly, "I'll miss you."

She moved back to the pew at the front of the church and took her seat again between her parents. The priest was back at the pulpit, inviting the attendees to come up to receive the Holy Communion.

Amy remained seated. Her mother shot her a look, but otherwise didn't say anything as she and her father got up from the pews. A handful of people walked up to the priest, Bernadette included. Amy blinked in surprise, but then suddenly realised that she had seen her wear a cross around her neck on multiple occasions.

Instead of walking back to her old seat at the back of the church, Bernadette took a seat next to Amy as she walked away from the priest.

Amy shot her a grateful look, there were tears in Bernadette's eyes as well as she took hold of her hand. She didn't let go. Not even during the final prayers.

The pallbearers carried the coffin on their shoulders and walked ahead of the congregation out of the church. It was an impressive sight. The front of the church cleared out first, and Amy followed her parents outside. Bernadette never left her side, and Amy's heart soared.

Penny and Doctor Cooper were standing as she walked past them. Amy gave them a small smile. Penny mouthed something to her. Amy couldn't catch what it was, but Penny's eyes shone with unshed tears. Doctor Cooper gave her another nod.

This was not the time, but she thought he looked incredibly hot in this suit.

After a final prayer at the burial site, the congregation moved back to a building at the side of the church, where coffee and tea was served. Amy had been silent after the reading of the psalm, but had held fast onto Bernadette's hand. She couldn't believe they had come. Without them in the pews, she wouldn't have been able to continue the reading.

It warmed her heart.

Upon entering the small room, Amy looked around. The amount of people that had shown up was bigger than she had thought; perhaps the size of the church made the crowd look smaller than it was.

She suddenly realised how exhausting the entire morning had been. She longed for a good night's sleep, or at least a short nap.

Penny and Doctor Cooper walked up to her. Penny enveloped her in a hug. "You spoke beautifully, sweetie," she whispered, squeezing her closer. Amy sighed, and hugged her back. "Thank you, and thank you so much for coming," she said softly.

Penny pulled back a little, but still held onto her waist. "Bernie dressed you up really nice as well," she muttered, and then bent forward as if she was sharing a secret. "I saw Sheldon checking out your ass when you walked by."

Amy flushed. She looked up to where Doctor Cooper was standing, he had given them some privacy and moved a couple of feet away. He stood stoically next to the table with coffee cans. His hands were clasped on his back and he stared out into the crowd. Bernadette was preparing a cup of tea beside him.

Amy released another deep breath, and turned to him. She might as well face him now. Seeing him in the pews had given her the boost of strength she had needed to continue. She would have to take some time later to figure out what that exactly implied.

"Hi," she greeted them.

Bernadette smiled at her softly. "It was a beautiful service, Amy," she said. "You did really well. Didn't she, Sheldon?"

Doctor Cooper had still been looking out in the crowd. His eyes cut to Amy's. "Yes, she did," he muttered. He still had his hands clasped on his back, and Amy frowned. She had expected a hug at least.

Well, if he wasn't going to do it, she would do it herself.

She walked up to him, and put her arms around his neck, pulling him towards her. The heels she wore gave her an increased height, and her face was much closer to his than it was the other time he had hugged her.

His arms went around her almost immediately and she inhaled his scent of fabric softener and talcum powder. It comforted her. His hands rested a little too low on her back to be appropriate.

"Thank you for coming," she muttered, "I didn't know I needed you here until I saw you sitting in the pews." Her statement was ambiguous enough, she could have meant just him, or all three of them with the word _you_.

He pulled her closer to him, and she was flush against his chest, his head moved to her ear.

"It's a good thing we're already at church," his breath was hot on her ear, "I might need a word with the priest later to confess the sinful thoughts I had when I saw you in this dress."

Amy's stomach swooped deliciously. This was even more inappropriate than her thoughts about him in the suit. She trembled a little. "Oh," was all she managed to get out.

He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "You did great," he said, pulling away from her a little bit, but keeping a hold on her waist.

His eyes were insanely blue once again as he looked at her. Amy blushed slightly.

"Well, Amy, aren't you going to introduce me to your.._ friends_?" her mother's mocking voice cut the moment short.

Amy quickly pulled away from Doctor Cooper, letting go off his neck and taking a step back. One of his hands fell away, but the other rested just above the swell of her bottom. Amy reacted to her mother's words as if she was caught sinning. There had to be closets around here. Her mother wouldn't hesitate to put her in one.

"Uh, of course. Mom, these are my friends; Bernadette, Penny and Sheldon," Amy stuttered, blushing.

Her mother looked them all up and down. She eyed the length of Penny's dress and Bernadette's slight cleavage disapprovingly. "Hm," was all she said haughtily.

Amy bit her lip nervously.

"Your friends, you say?" she said disbelievingly, as her eyes moved to where Doctor Cooper's left hand was positioned.

He cleared his throat. "Mrs Fowler, it's nice to meet you, ma'am," he said, with the air of arrogance he adopted in class, and held out his right hand for her to shake. "And my condolences as well."

Mrs Fowler took a hold of his hand, and narrowed her eyes at him. "Thank you, Mister…?"

"It's doctor actually, _Doctor_ Sheldon Cooper," he said, staring her down.

Mrs Fowler looked visibly impressed, and Amy held her breath to see what would happen next.

"And may I ask how a doctor such as yourself has come to be _friends_ with my Amy? No offence, Doctor Cooper, but you don't exactly fall into the same age-category," Mrs Fowler said snidely.

Doctor Cooper didn't even flinch at the implications.

"You may ask, but if you don't mind, I choose not to answer," he replied.

Mrs Fowler could only stare at the audacity. "Excuse me?" she sounded appalled.

Bernadette quickly intervened, before things could escalate. "Mrs Fowler? Hi, I'm Bernadette Rostenkowski," she said, pulling her away from the stare-down. "Amy and I share a lab at Caltech. She's met Penny and Sheldon through me, and we've simply loved having her spend time with us."

It was stretching the truth. Amy saw her mother narrow her eyes at Bernadette, until she eyed the cross on her neck again. "You're studying to be a biologist as well then?" she said.

"Yes, I am, ma'am," Bernadette smiled. "I do wish we could have met under different circumstances, but it's still nice to meet you, Mrs Fowler."

Amy was almost sure she was pulling out all the stops to keep her mother from flying at Doctor Cooper's throat. Bernadette must be aware her cute appearance and sweet voice would be able to calm her down.

"You'll have to excuse Sheldon," Penny added conspiringly, "he has developed an aversion against the church, growing up a genius in East-Texas with a born-again Christian mother. He wanted to be here for Amy, though."

"_Excuse_ me, I'm right here," Doctor Cooper snapped.

"Yes," Penny hissed at him, "and you're making a terrible first impression on the woman who could your new mothe- - "

"Okay!" Amy interrupted them quickly, before things were said that could not be taken back. This was going horribly.

"_There's_ my favourite cousin!" Uncle Geoffrey's voice filled the awkward silence around them, "I was wondering if you'd already left!"

_As if it wasn't awkward enough already. _

"Uncle Geoffrey," Amy smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. He had his arms wrapped around her already and as always his hand grasped fistfuls of her ass. Amy heard Doctor Cooper cough rather loudly behind her.

Amy quickly pulled away. "Uncle Geoffrey, these are my friends," she waved towards the others. Doctor Cooper's eyes shot fire.

Uncle Geoffrey seemed oblivious, he only had eyes for the women. "How lovely to meet you, ladies," he slurred, and Amy wondered if he had drunk more than just a sip of wine during Holy Communion. Penny and Bernadette smiled awkwardly at him as he engaged them in conversation.

Amy looked at the scene. She never thought she'd think it, but she was actually glad Uncle Geoffrey interrupted them when he did.

"Amy," her mother said, holding her car keys as if ready to go, "I've got to run some errands. The priest is waiting for me. I trust you'll get home by yourself?"

"We'll take her," Doctor Cooper interjected from her right. His tone made it sound like it was not up for discussion.

Mrs Fowler looked at him suspiciously. "Alright," she said, "call me later, Amy. We have things to talk about."

Amy just nodded. She was exhausted. "Whatever, Mom," she mumbled indifferently.

"I will not have you taking that tone with me, Amy," her mother hissed. "We'll discuss this later."

She gave her a stern look, but Amy couldn't care less. Her mother turned around to leave.

"Mrs Fowler," Doctor Cooper called after her, "let me walk you to your car, ma'am."

Amy's mother looked at him in surprise. He had already taken hold of her elbow and walked at a brisk pace to the door.

Amy looked at their retreating forms in bewilderment. _What the…_

Figuring she would hear all about it from her mother later anyway, Amy turned around at went to save the girls from Uncle Geoffrey.

Penny was trying really hard not to laugh too loud – they were still at a funeral after all – but she obviously seemed to think he was being hilarious.

"Hey," Amy said, when she reached them, "what's so funny?"

Penny was legit crying now, and Bernadette was giggling in her hand.

"Oh," Uncle Geoffrey slurred, "I was just telling these lovely ladies about the time you and Aunt Flora pulled that prank on your mother…"

He continued to recount the story of Amy and Aunt Flora replacing the sugar with salt in her tea, while she had an important meeting with a new client. She had to keep a straight face the entire time.

"You were always her favourite, Amy," Uncle Geoffrey said, smiling at her.

Amy bowed her head, willing the tears to stop for once. "And she was mine," she said.

Uncle Geoffrey pulled her in a bear hug. He smelled of old-people and cheap aftershave. Amy suddenly realised he was the first member of her family to give her a hug.

"I'm sorry, Amy," Uncle Geoffrey said, letting go of her. "My sister always spoke so fondly of you. I'll see if I can find some pictures of the two of you in my photo albums."

"Thank you," Amy said, wiping her face. "That would be great."

Uncle Geoffrey gave her arm a final squeeze, and went to talk to other people.

Penny and Bernadette gave her sympathetic smiles. "You ok?" Penny asked.

"I'm just really tired after everything," Amy muttered, "and then that showdown between my mother and Doctor Cooper was really something I could have lived without."

Penny guffawed. "I thought it was pretty awesome," she said, "I don't know what exactly you told him about her, but he was bitching about her the entire ride over here."

Amy smiled slightly.

"You want to get out of here?" Bernadette asked.

Amy smiled gratefully at her. "I'm going to go say goodbye to my dad first," she said. "Have either of you seen him?"

The all looked around the small area for a couple of minutes, but no one was able to find him.

"Screw it," Amy finally said, "I'll just text him."

The three girls walked outside, and Amy stopped in her tracks. Her father was sitting on a bench in front of the church next to Doctor Cooper. They appeared to be sitting in silence.

She was instantly nervous. Would they have discussed her?

"Hi dad," she said as she reached them. Bernadette and Penny had gone over to pull the car around.

Her father looked up and gave her a smile. "Hey pumpkin," he said, "I'm sorry for keeping him from you too long, but it's a father's duty to find out what kind of man is pursuing his daughter."

Amy felt her face heat up. No, her entire body was blushing. _What _had Doctor Cooper said to him?

She was speechless.

"Don't worry," her father added, "I'll talk to your mother." He stood up and hugged her to him. "I like him," he stage-whispered in her ear, loud enough for Doctor Cooper to hear.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, horrified. Her father just winked at her.

Doctor Cooper had gotten up as well. He held out his hand for her father to shake. "It was on honour to meet you, sir," he stated.

"Likewise, Doctor Cooper," her father said, smirking at him. The handshake they gave each other was unnecessarily firm. With a final nod, her father turned around and walked back to the side-building.

Amy just stared. _What had Doctor Cooper said to him? _

"The girls getting the car?" he asked, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

"Uhm, yeah," Amy shook her head, clearing it from the thoughts mulling around in it. She was too tired for all of this.

Bernadette's car pulled up by the curb. Amy turned to walk over there, but she was unsteady in the heels she wore. Instantly, Doctor Cooper's hand was on the small of her back. Together, they walked over to the car in silence.

Bernadette smirked at her from behind the wheel.

Amy didn't know what was happening anymore. All she knew, was that the drive would most likely lull her into sleep. Doctor Cooper held the door open for her, and she climbed in. He got in on the opposite side.

She had an instant déjà-vu to the night he had brought her home after the thing with Zach in the bar.

Except this time, he took her hand as soon as he had buckled up. He squeezed it softly.

Bernadette pulled onto the road, and it took Amy exactly two blocks to fall into a restless slumber.

* * *

When Amy awoke they were parked in front of 2311 North Los Robles. She blinked and saw Doctor Cooper unbuckle his seat belt. Was it because he had let go of her hand that she had woken up?

Bernadette turned from behind the wheel. "Ames, we were thinking, maybe you wanted to hang out with us for a bit?" she asked. "If not, I can take you home just as easily. You say the word."

Amy thought for only a second. "Hanging out sounds fun, yeah," she muttered. "But nothing too straining, a movie or something."

The four of them walked up the stairs in pairs of two. Amy and Penny climbed first. It wasn't until the second flight of stairs, that Amy realised she was giving Doctor Cooper a perfect view of her rear in the tight dress she wore.

_Should she swing her hips a little more on purpose? _

"I don't have the biggest collection, but my immature boyfriend and his roommate own about every movie ever made," Penny joked as they almost reached the fourth floor. "Even though you can stream everything nowadays, they still insist on buying."

"You laugh all you want, Penny," Doctor Cooper inserted, "but you and your Netflix account have no leg to stand on when I change the Wi-Fi password."

Penny gasped mockingly at him. "You wouldn't!"

"I've done it before, and I'll do it again." Doctor Cooper was using his professor voice and it made Amy weak in the knees.

They had arrived on the fourth floor landing, and Penny was just pulling out her keys from her bag, when the door to Doctor Cooper's apartment opened before he had a chance to open it himself.

"I thought I heard you guys coming up," Leonard said in greeting.

"Oh, Amy," he continued, walking over to her and hugging her awkwardly. Her heels only increased their difference in height and her breasts were practically in his face. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, Leonard," Amy replied, giving him a small smile.

"Actually, the guys are here. We were going to watch all of Back to the Future, you know, for science. If you girls would like to join us."

Amy chuckled. "Still discussing the workings of the flux capacitor I presume?"

And that's how they all ended up at Doctor Cooper's apartment. Amy looked on how everyone took what appeared to be an assigned seat. Penny fell down into the chair adjacent to the couch. Raj sat on the floor. Howard sat on the one end of the couch, Bernadette on the crate of books next to it.

Doctor Cooper walked over to the kitchen with Leonard, they were talking quietly. Amy tried to hear what they were saying. She stood by the door and took off her pumps. Her feet had been aching before, but the walk up to the apartment had really done her in.

"Amy," Doctor Cooper called, "I'm making you chamomile tea. Have a seat."

He waved towards the couch, but there was really only one seat available. She knew he sat on the far right of the couch. The only unoccupied seat was the one right next to him. Penny grinned at her, and Amy was confused till the realisation hit her. There was a possibility she would spend hours next to him on this couch, watching an entire trilogy.

Leonard had joined Penny in the chair, and they were a tangle of limbs in no time.

Amy accepted the mug of tea Doctor Cooper handed her with a small smile. He had taken off his suit jacket, and his tie hung loosely around his neck. "Are you comfortable?" he asked.

Amy nodded. She couldn't speak. He was dressed like he was in the first dirty dream she had about him. Her body responded in kind.

"Are you sure?" he implored her. "You look a bit flushed."

"No, I'm fine," Amy answered softly. _They weren't alone for crying out loud. _She was sure the others were watching them like hawks and having the time of their lives doing so.

Raj started the movie, and Amy nestled in further on the couch. She sipped her tea and felt calmer right away. Perhaps she should get some chamomile tea as well.

Doctor Cooper kept a respectable distance to her the entire movie. Amy didn't know if she should be glad about that or not.

The guys around her joked and commented on the movie and Amy laughed along with them.

It was wonderful to be a part of a group like this, she suddenly realised. However much a part of it she was at the moment. She wasn't sure what she and Doctor Cooper were right now – or should she call him Sheldon now that they were not at the University? It was so confusing. Maybe that was tiring her out as well.

She felt his eyes were on her quite a lot during the movie. She bent forward to put her mug down on the coffee table, and when she sat back up, he had moved his right arm to the back of the couch.

It was the oldest trick in the book and Amy loved it.

Amy tried her hardest to suppress a smile as she settled in closer to him. _Where should she leave her left arm? On his leg? Against his side? _Her thoughts were rendered moot, as he pulled her against him.

Half way through the second movie, Leonard ordered pizza. It was delivered around the end and they all ate while they continued to watch the adventures of Doc Brown and Marty McFly. Howard was making notes every time something about the mechanics of the time machine was mentioned and Amy laughed at his childlike enthusiasm.

By the time the third movie came to an end, Amy was truly tired. While she liked Back to the Future as much as the next person who was born in the eighties, the movies had a kind of repetitive pattern, and that wasn't helping her stay awake. The warmth of Doctor Coopers body right next to hers wasn't helping her either – but in a different way.

She stifled a yawn as the time machine – which was now a locomotive – flew off and the credits started to roll. Penny had fallen asleep and was snoring slightly. Bernadette had lost interest and was playing on her phone.

Howard got up from the couch. "We should go," he said, nodding to Raj and Bernadette. The both of them got to their feet as well, and Leonard nudged Penny awake. She stirred and blinked languidly at Leonard.

"Damn, what time is it?" she murmured.

"It's past midnight," Raj answered, "we'll get out of here."

"Oh!" Penny said and, as if she realised something, got up quickly and pulled Leonard with her.

Before Amy knew what was happening, the five of them were standing by the open door, ready to make a quick exit. She suddenly realised Bernadette was her ride home, and moved to get up from her seat as well.

A hand closed around her wrist and pulled her back.

She looked to her left into the questioning eyes of Doctor Cooper.

"Amy," he muttered, "if you're not up for the ride home, you're more than welcome to stay over."

She blinked back at him, confused.

"Bernadette's the one driving," she said, not understanding why she wouldn't be up for a ride in the back of a car, _she _didn't need to focus on the road.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Let me try that again," he said.

Before he continued, it suddenly dawned on her what he had actually meant. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest. She held her breath in anticipation.

"Amy, do you want to stay the night?"

_To be continued_

**A/N I'd very much like a Christmas present in the form of a review. **


	24. Intentions

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 23**

**Intentions**

"Oh, uhm…" Amy stuttered. "I don't know…"

His face fell, and the grip on her wrist loosened immediately. "Alright," he coughed awkwardly, and looked away from her.

"It's just," Amy muttered, "it's been a really long day and I'm really tired. I don't think I'm up for..."

"I was just asking you to stay the night, Amy," he interrupted her, "I didn't necessarily mean for anything to happen between us."

Amy felt foolish. She had been royally pissed off when he had left her in her bed after giving her such pleasure days before, and now, he was asking her to stay with him and she just assumed he wanted to do something sexual.

_Did _she want something sexual to happen? It seemed to occupy a lot of her thoughts when she was around him.

"Oh," she murmured. It was incredibly awkward.

"I thought, maybe you wouldn't want to be alone tonight after a day like this."

He made a valid point. She _didn't_ want to be alone tonight.

And that's how they ended up brushing their teeth side by side in his bathroom, Amy still in her dress, Doctor Cooper in his slacks and white shirt.

Their eyes locked in the mirror in front of them.

His eyes had a sparkle in them and it made Amy blush. The heat from his gaze felt strange in comparison to the cold tile floor under her feet.

Amy looked at his behind as he bent over to rinse his mouth and drink from the faucet. It looked nice. Better than nice.

He looked up and caught her looking. He raised an eyebrow at her. He wiped his mouth with a washcloth and with a move of his hand mentioned for her to go ahead at the sink.

Amy bent down, turning on the tab and spitting out the tooth paste. She could feel his eyes on _her_ now. It caused a delicious chill to go through her.

She moved back up and he handed her a washcloth. "Thanks," she muttered, dapping her mouth. He was standing incredibly close to her, his right hand suddenly on her lower back, slowly moving down.

She turned to look at him, his blue eyes were piercing her once again.

His hand moved lower, and cupped her ass through her dress. His lips practically grazed her ear when he whispered to her.

"Don't you think this dress is a little inappropriate for church, Miss Fowler? I couldn't have been the only one there who was distracted by the way you looked..."

Amy felt her pulse quicken. She inhaled sharply. He was calling her _Miss Fowler_ again, but it sounded playful.

"What do you mean, Doctor Cooper? Is there something wrong with this dress?" she replied innocently.

He squeezed her butt in response and grasped her face with his other hand, bringing them closer together.

"Oh, there's absolutely nothing _wrong_ with this dress... Your ass looks phenomenal. If there's anything wrong with this dress, it's the fact that it's still on you, Miss Fowler," he muttered against her lips.

His mouth closed over hers in a searing kiss. Amy moaned in his mouth, and his tongue swept across her lips, opening her mouth and moving against her tongue.

Amy found herself in his arms, his hands on her ass, pulling her flush against him as he leaned against the sink.

She kissed him back with fervour, her mind blissfully empty of worries about her parents and whatever conversations he had had with them. All there was, was his tongue and his lips, and the groans he made in the back of his throat while his hands kneaded the flesh of her butt.

He pulled away with a groan, breathing deeply. Amy was already lightheaded with lust. One of her hands had wound up around his neck, while the other was _inside_ his shirt, feeling his rapidly beating heart through his undershirt.

She could feel how aroused he was, as his erection pressed against her belly.

He cleared his throat, and looked down awkwardly. "Did you want to shower before bed?" he tried to sound unconcerned and closed-off.

Amy caressed his neck and pulled him in closer, so she could whisper in his ear.

"Are you trying to get me out of this dress, Doctor Cooper?" she whispered, hoping she sounded playful and flirting.

The grip on her waist tightened, and a delicious jolt went through her.

"Amy," he groaned, and pushed her away a little while he moved away from the sink. _Well, so much for flirting_, she thought and her heart sank a little.

He was sending her mixed signals again. She thought they were passed this. Why was it okay for him to flirt with her or initiate, but when she wanted it, he pushed her away? That wasn't fair.

He pushed her away further, and left her standing at the sink. She watched him walk over to a cabinet, where he pulled out a towel.

If he thought Amy was just going to stand there and just let _him_ decide everything, he was very much mistaken, she thought.

Without turning around, she spoke almost casually. "I was wondering if you managed to get a moment alone with Father Michaels?"

He halted in his step behind her and blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"Just wondering if you were able to confess your sins..."

She held his gaze in the mirror, his eyes had darkened. He walked towards her slowly and caged her in from behind. His body pressed against hers, and he muttered in her ear.

"I was having sinful _thoughts_, Amy... We haven't sinned _yet_..."

Amy thought the things they'd done were pretty sinful.

"We haven't?" she asked, surprised.

His hands were on her waist now, slowly hiking up her dress. He chuckled darkly.

"No, we haven't... at least not in the way my mother is always trying to stop me from doing..." he whispered hotly in her ear.

He had pulled up her dress over her bottom by now and his fingers were swiftly making work of her pantyhose, pulling them down.

"Oh, if we were sinning Amy... I'd take you right here against the sink," his hands were caressing the insides of her thighs. Amy quivered.

"You would?" she whispered, and she opened her eyes and met his heated gaze in the mirror.

One of his hands moved up to her hair, and caressed it softly. "Oh yes," he hissed, as his other hand stroked her over her panties. Amy held her breath anxiously. _Would he? _

"I'd probably rip these pantyhose while bending you over ever so slightly," he pushed her forward as he spoke, and Amy felt how this position made her butt touch the bulge in front of his pants.

"I would have you looking at me," he muttered, and his hand fisted her hair and he pulled her up by her hair. Amy gasped.

His eyes were nearly black now.

She felt his fingers moving over her ass, and push aside her panties between her legs. His fingers grazed her in the process. Amy closed her eyes and breathed out shallowly. _What was happening? Was he actually narrating as he went? _

He pulled her hair again, and Amy looked up in shock at the sharp sting of pain.

"Look at me, Amy," he growled, and his fingers were there again, pushing into her. Amy held his gaze in the mirror, her mouth open, panting.

It felt so different like this. The angle his hand made combined with his piercing stare in the mirror, felt way more intense. She moaned softly.

She could _hear_ how aroused she was, the sounds of his fingers moving through her folds, stroking her clit, entering her again.

He groaned in her neck, and brushed a kiss under her ear. "I can't get over how tight you are, Amy," he grunted, and inserted another finger while he tightened the grip on her hair.

Amy whimpered.

"Does this hurt?" he panted, he removed his fingers from her slowly, and teased her clit again.

"M-my hair hurts a little," Amy muttered, moving her head to where he wanted it, against his right shoulder. She tried her best to keep her eyes open.

"_That's_ supposed to hurt, darlin'," he chuckled darkly against her ear. His fingers – how many was this? Two? Three? It had to be three, right? – pushed into her again as he finished his sentence.

Amy gasped in shock. If it was from the sensation of his fingers inside her or from what he said, or both, she couldn't be sure.

_What _did he just call her?

The grip on her hair loosened, and he pushed her forward. Amy grasped the sink to steady herself.

"Fuck, Amy," he murmured. "I can't wait to have you clench around my dick like this."

His words made her clench even more. She wanted him. "Uhh, Sheldon," she moaned, he was fingering her clit now. She was almost there.

"Tell me what you want," he panted.

Amy mewled under his ministrations. Did she dare ask him? She had waited long enough. She was curious. Nervous as hell, but her curiosity won out as she answered him.

"Take me," she moaned.

Sheldon groaned behind her. "No," he muttered.

Amy huffed. He wanted her as well. She could feel it, his erection pressed against her butt with each thrust of her hips into his hand. Why would he deny her?

"Sheldon, please," she moaned, almost delirious with want, "take me..."

The sound of his hand connecting to her rear echoed in the bathroom. Amy gasped at the sharp sting of pain that resonated through her.

"I said no, Amy," Sheldon hissed, almost angrily.

He smacked her ass again.

Amy yelped and to her surprise, she felt even more arousal course through her. His fingers slipped through the amount of wetness easily.

While she had dirty dreams about this, she had never expected to really feel a thrill go through her.

"Oh, you like this, don't you? Why am I not surprised," he chuckled.

"N-no," Amy lied. _Wasn't this incredibly degrading? _Then why did it turn her on?

"Don't lie to me, Amy," Sheldon reprimanded her, "I can feel how wet it gets you. Maybe you'll even be able to handle a third finger, hmm?"

Good God, had it been only two fingers this entire time?

He removed his fingers altogether, and swiped them across her folds. Amy squirmed underneath him.

She felt him poise his fingers at her entrance. "Look at me, Amy," he muttered.

Amy looked into his eyes in the mirror as he inserted them. "Oh," she whimpered. He stretched her. It hurt a little.

"Ugh," she moaned, the sting suddenly too much for her to handle.

He removed the extra finger immediately. "Too much?" he mumbled, his thumb caressing her clit in fast circles, "This better?"

Amy fell forward again, moaning out loud. "_Yes," _she gasped. She was climbing again, higher and higher. She trembled.

"I want to look in your eyes when you come for me," he grunted, pulling her up by her hair again.

Amy languidly opened her eyes. His stare made the fire inside her burn even more. With one final swipe across her clit, she was there.

"_Sheldon," _she moaned, convulsing on his fingers. The waves of pleasure went through her, rendering her speechless and completely limp. She fell back against him, panting still.

Her legs gave out, but Sheldon held her close against him. He pressed kisses to her neck. And another under her ear.

He breathed harshly into her ear, seemingly exhausted himself.

"I'm not having you lose your virginity by me taking you from behind against my bathroom sink on the day of your aunt's funeral," he whispered darkly, "I have too much respect for you to do that. When the day comes I do take you, you will be under me in a _bed_ and I won't be your professor anymore. Do you understand me?"

Amy nodded mutely.

He kissed her neck again. "Good," he mumbled, then adopted a lighter tone, "now go shower. And please use the shower gel in the yellow bottle, otherwise you'll smell like Leonard, and I won't want you next to me."

He winked at her. Amy chuckled softly, still breathless from what just happened and the things he said.

* * *

Amy stood under the stream of water, thinking the day over. What a day it had been. If someone told her that morning how the day would have gone; the confrontations at the funeral, Doctor Coo – no, _Sheldon_, talking to both her parents, the movies and the warmth of being around a big group of people, and then what just happened in the bathroom.

He wanted her.

He basically said if it were up to him, they'd be having sex in two weeks' time.

In two weeks the semester would be over and he wouldn't be her professor anymore. A thrill went through her at the thought.

The shower curtain was pulled aside suddenly. Amy turned around quickly, her back to him. _Had he actually ever seen her breasts? _

"I hope you don't mind," she could barely hear him over the sound of the running water, "but you've been in here a long time and it's getting rather late. I'll just rinse off quickly."

His hands enveloped her waist and she was pulled against his warm body.

"N-no, it's okay," she murmured.

"Did you find the right shower gel?" he muttered in her ear.

She had been done for minutes, and had simply stood under the spray of water. She was thankful for the elastic she found in a dish by the sink so she could put her hair out of the way.

"Yes," she answered. His hands were roving over her belly.

"That's a shame," he mumbled, "I wouldn't have minded washing you."

Amy flushed. How foolish of her. Wasn't that what people did when they shared showers? She should have lied.

Before she knew what she was truly saying, the words were already out of her mouth.

"I guess I'll just wash you instead, then."

She twisted around in his arms before she lost her cool, and pulled his startled face to hers quickly.

He met her mouth eagerly, their lips brushed against each other and Amy turned them around as elegantly as possible. It was hard in the confined space of the tub, but luckily the adhesive stickers on the bottom of the tub made it easier.

She pulled back from him and pushed him fully under the spray. She took a second to enjoy the view. His chest was defined but not overly muscular, there was a patch of hair between his pecs. Her eyes moved downwards to his groin.

Despite having had him in her mouth, she still stared at the size of him. And he wasn't even hard. Well, not fully.

"It's not polite to stare, Miss Fowler," Sheldon said, using his professor voice. Heat stirred in her belly.

She looked up at him. "I was just admiring the view, sir," she said innocently, playing along with him.

He grinned slowly at her.

"Go on then," he said while he handed her the shower gel. "We don't have all day and I think it's way beyond your bedtime already."

Amy nodded. She squirted a dollop of wash in her hand and rubbed them together quickly to create a foam. She soaped up his arms simultaneously and made him turn around when she reached his shoulders. She moved her hands over his back, feeling his muscles contract as she moved upwards.

She massaged his shoulders briefly. There was a lot of tension in them.

"This doesn't feel too good," she muttered. "I could help you out with this, you know. Even self-massage can release some of this tension."

She let her fingers slide alongside his spine, and moved to the left finding a small node-like object rolling around his shoulder blade; the myofascial point.

"Brace yourself, Doctor Cooper," she whispered and bore down on it.

He groaned loudly.

"Ohhh, _fuck_," he cursed. His hands were flat against the shower wall in front of him. "Oh, your hands are magic..."

Amy grinned.

She turned him back around. "Majoring in biology doesn't sound that bad now, does it Doctor Cooper?"

He gave her an exasperated look and pulled her face towards his. He kissed her softly.

"Don't be sassy now, Miss Fowler," he whispered against her lips. He kissed her again, and his teeth nibbled her lower lip playfully. Amy moaned.

"I didn't think you were done yet, were you?"

Amy blushed under his gaze and added another dollop of shower gel on her hands. She moved her hands in circles over his chest. The hairs felt course under her fingers.

"Is this better, Doctor Cooper?" she asked sarcastically, swivelling her hands lower.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

Amy bypassed his growing erection, and caressed the tops of his thighs instead. She slowly moved into a squatting position while her hands moved lower.

Sheldon stared at her from above. Amy had never felt this bold in her life.

"You missed a spot, Miss Fowler..." he muttered.

Amy moved her hands to where he wanted them. She moved her soapy hands over him, one grasping his balls and massaging them softly while she folded the other around his length.

She barely touched him, but he grew harder still.

Amy lathered him up, and gave Sheldon a soft push so he moved back, causing the stream of the shower to wash over his front. Amy took her time cleaning away the suds on his dick while she listened intently to his increased breathing.

Once satisfied he was cleaned of soap, she pulled him closer to her by his hips.

She looked up at him, licking her lips.

"Amy..." he mumbled, his hand moving to her hair. His eyes were ablaze.

It was all the encouragement she needed. She licked him around the tip, covered her teeth as much as she could, and enveloped him in her mouth.

The grip on her hair tightened, but he didn't pull her closer or moved his hips into her, he merely held her head.

Amy moaned around him, and bopped her head up and down slowly. She moved her hand on him in the opposite direction.

Sheldon was groaning above her.

Amy's thighs were starting to burn from her awkward position. She decided to take things up a notch. Increasing the grip on his member, she hollowed her cheeks and sucked him in further.

"Amy," Sheldon muttered urgently, pulling away from her grasp, "move."

He pulled her up quickly and just in time for him to come on her belly, moaning deeply all the while. He crushed her against him, breathing out harshly in her ear.

They stood under the stream together for about a minute.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Someone's been practicing," he whispered in her ear. She hadn't. Amy felt strangely proud of herself.

She smiled the entire time Sheldon washed his semen away from her upper body, and didn't stop till he wrapped her in a towel and she turned towards the sink to brush her teeth again.

"I left you something to wear to bed," he said, indicating to a pile of clothes next to the sink.

Amy nodded, her mouth filled with toothpaste. Sheldon turned around and moved to his bedroom.

Amy spit out the toothpaste and drank some water. _Who'd have thought this day would turn out to end on such a high note, _she mused.

She moved over to the clothes he laid out for her. It was _yet _another Batman shirt. _How many did the man have? _It made her smile.

As she unfolded it, something else fell from the shirt. Amy bent down to pick it up.

The smile disappeared from her face. It was a pair of panties.

They weren't hers.

_To be continued_

**A/N I had a great vacation. It was beautiful and filled with so many highlights. I have returned home well-rested (except for this incoming jetlag) and filled with inspiration as I had hoped. I'll publish a one shot I wrote on while lying on the beach and by the pool later this week. **

**I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Thank you for your patience and your continued support! **

**Let me know what you think. **


	25. Accelerations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 24**

**Accelerations**

Amy felt her blood run cold.

The guy had two pairs of her underwear and had the nerve to ask her to wear some other woman's panties?

_What kind of sick joke was this? _

She pulled the Batman shirt over her head, grateful it covered her bottom as well. She threw her towel on the floor angrily.

She marched into his bedroom. He was just pulling back the covers of his bed, dressed in only pyjama pants. He looked incredibly sexy and she didn't like it one bit.

He looked up as she entered.

"You look great in my shirts, Amy," he smiled at her.

Amy stared at him. She was sure the anger was coming off her in waves.

"And I suppose I look great in some other woman's underwear as well?" she seethed.

Sheldon blinked at her.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Amy scoffed. "What do I mean? _What do I mean?_" she had raised her voice now.

"Yes," he said calmly. "Do you think I have a collection of women's underwear here? And that I mixed up which belong to you and which belong to someone else?"

Amy blinked at him. That had been exactly what she had been thinking.

"I have an eidetic memory, Amy," he said in the condescending tone he sometimes used in class, "I haven't forgotten what your underwear looks like. Did you even look at the ones I just gave you?"

Amy hadn't.

Sheldon sighed, and powerwalked past her to the bathroom. He returned, holding the panties she had just dropped on the floor next to the towel.

All Amy had first registered was that they were not the white hipster she wore under her schoolgirl skirt or the pink brazilian she had worn at her first girls' night.

These were black. The back of the panties was made entirely of lace. She didn't own stuff like this. She turned them over. A Batman logo made of rhinestones glittered up at her. Two pale yellow bows adorned the sides.

She looked up at him blankly.

"I saw them at the Comic Book Store some time ago and I thought they'd make a fun gift, because of the Batman shirts you like so much," Sheldon said. "I seem to be mistaken."

Amy swallowed away the dryness in her throat. She felt ashamed for assuming the worst so quickly. "Oh," she mumbled.

He had bought her _underwear_?

Sheldon sighed tiredly. "Come on," he said, "let's just get to bed."

Amy wordlessly climbed into bed next to him. He seemed pissed off. Amy couldn't blame him, really. She had just accused him of handing her some other woman's underwear. And she hadn't apologized.

He turned off the light on his bedside table and the room was cloaked in darkness. Just a sliver of light came through a crack in the curtains.

They both stared at the ceiling.

"Sheldon?" Amy whispered. _This was even harder than trying to excel at oral sex, _she thought.

"What?" he answered brusquely.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I assumed that –" she started.

"I know why you assumed, Amy," Sheldon interrupted her. "Penny and Bernadette told you all about my romantic history with women, or the lack of romance in said history. It's a somewhat logical assumption."

"No," Amy replied, "I shouldn't have drawn conclusions this quickly."

She turned on her side and studied his profile. "I'm sorry," she repeated.

Sheldon exhaled deeply and pulled her against him. He kissed the top of her head. "It's okay," he said. "You've had a rough day and I only tired you out more. I should have thought this through."

Amy burrowed into him. He was warm to the touch. He felt extremely inviting.

"S okay," she mumbled against his chest sleepily. "I like it when you tire me out."

Sheldon pulled her even closer, she was half on top of him now, her leg swung over his and her arm around his waist.

"And I like tiring you out," he whispered back. He kissed her temple. "Go to sleep."

Amy barely heard him, her eyes fell closed and her breathing evened out.

She was asleep within seconds.

* * *

Amy awoke to kisses in her neck. It took her a second to realise where she was. She had spent the entire night in the arms of her professor.

"Morning," the professor whispered in her ear. Apparently she had turned around in her sleep, she was on her other side now, and Sheldon was behind her. His hand caressed her waist over the shirt she wore.

"Hmmmm," Amy hummed, still too tired for whatever he was doing to her. She moved back against him, trying to steal some of his body heat but brushing up against a hard bulge instead.

_Oh. _

She was pulled back firmly against him. The bulge pressed against her bottom now. "I thought you'd still be tired," Sheldon whispered suggestively, "but I'm very much liking this approach of yours..."

His hand slipped under the shirt and fondled her breast. Amy moaned and squirmed against him. His erection against her bare ass caused some illicit thrill to go through her.

He pinched her nipple and she was suddenly wide awake. She pushed her ass against him, moving in small circles. Sheldon grunted in her ear.

"You vixen," he groaned, "if you keep this up I'll end up with a sticky situation in my pyjama's."

Amy giggled.

"Oh, you think this is funny, do you?" He breathed. Amy nodded slightly.

"We'll see how hard you're laughing when I do it to you," he threatened, and pulled her around, making her lie flat on her back.

He wasted no time moving his hand between her legs.

Amy gasped loudly. He had aroused her extremely fast.

"So wet for me, aren't you?" he muttered, pushing two fingers inside her. Amy keened, and moved against him, desperate for more friction.

"You're not laughing now, I see," he chuckled and it prompted Amy to let her hand wander from his chest to his pants. She slipped her hand under the waistband and grabbed his dick.

Sheldon stopped laughing too, instead he breathed shallowly, but he touched a spot inside her that made Amy cry out.

"You won't win this game, Amy," he panted. "You might as well give up now."

Amy was close to coming, but wasn't going to let that stop her from getting the upper hand.

She let go off his dick, and with all the strength she had, pushed at his shoulders to make him lie down on this back. His hand slipped from her privates in the process. Amy tugged on his pyjama pants and lowered them down.

"I never forfeit," she said, swinging her leg over his legs and straddling his thighs.

Her hand went around his dick again, and she looked him in the eyes as she started moving it up and down.

He was smirking at her. _Had this been his intention all along? _Amy narrowed her eyes at him and squeezed him harder, moving her hand more rapidly.

It had been easier when she had her spit to aid her with this, she concluded. Only she thought that he didn't deserve _that_ after all his teasing. Instead she let go of him and moved her hand to between her own legs.

"Ah!" she moaned as her own hands moved over her clit. She moved her hand through the wetness, coating her fingers.

Opening her eyes, she saw Sheldon staring at her intensely. His chest rose and fell rapidly.

Amy grasped him again, he felt even harder than before. The lubrication aided her greatly in her movements. She squeezed him harder, moving her hand in a fast controlled motion.

Sheldon was moaning harder with each move of her hands.

"This is cheating, Amy," he uttered between moans. Amy grinned, she felt so powerful like this.

"Is it?" Amy asked, out of breath herself. "I wasn't informed of any rules beforehand, Doctor Cooper."

She yelped when he twisted both her nipples simultaneously. Amy's grip on his dick faltered and she felt forward slightly.

"In my bed, I make the rules," he whispered darkly, pulling her nipples still.

Amy mewled.

"If I'd known that, I wouldn't have said yes to staying over," she mumbled breathlessly. His actions caused her arousal to heighten immensely.

Sheldon sat up and pulled her mouth to his. He rolled them over.

Amy moaned in his mouth. She felt his erection slip through the wetness between her legs. Amy shifted her hips underneath him. He thrusted against her clit and she keened.

She felt his dick slip lower to the place that was aching for him.

Sheldon broke away from her, breathing deeply. "You make me lose control, Amy," he groaned.

Amy gripped his shoulders, and bucked up against him. She felt him press against her _there. _If she would just move her hips a little bit…

"Amy…" he moaned, pulling away from her with a groan. "You naughty girl, I told you we weren't going to do this. Do I need to spank you again?"

Amy bit her lip as she looked up at him. She blushed at the thought.

"Don't look at me like that," he groaned, kissing her softly.

"Like what?" Amy asked breathlessly.

"Like you want me to fuck your brains out," he muttered.

Arousal swooped in her stomach. She breathed unsteadily. Her breaths turned into tiny gasps when she felt his fingers touch her again.

"I want you to," she whispered.

His fingers moved inside her. "Patience, darlin'," he muttered in her ear. He touched that spot inside her, and she arched up against him, her hands grasping his arms.

The tension inside her built up quickly. Amy could feel herself contracting around his fingers before the first wave of pleasure coursed through her.

"_OH!_" she convulsed on his fingers, shocks of pure bliss moved throughout her. He continued stroking her, until the shocks stopped and she was left trembling in his arms.

Now that the tension inside her was gone, she was able to think clearly again.

She had almost had _actual_ sex just now. He had been right, stopping her.

She opened her eyes and blinked up at him. His eyes were pitch black and there was a flush on his face.

"You okay?" he asked her.

Amy smiled. "More than okay," she replied softly. She pulled him in for a kiss. He complied, his lips moving over her urgently. She could feel his hardened dick pressing against her thigh.

Amy took him in her hand again, moving over him in an increased rhythm.

He grunted in her mouth.

Amy pressed kisses across his jaw and breathed in his ear, her hand still working him.

"I can't wait for the next two weeks to be over," she whispered.

Sheldon moaned. "Oh yeah?"

Amy hummed affirmatively. Her hand increased its speed, she squeezed the tip with each movement over him. His breathing became erratic.

"I want to know how it feels," she murmured, "to have you on top of me, feeling you come inside me…"

Her final words did it. He groaned her name loudly, and she felt him pulsate in her hand. He ejaculated on the sheets next to her. Some of it landed on her hip.

"Good lord, Amy," he said after breathing out harshly for a minute. He was kissing her neck. "How did you learn my weak spots this quickly?"

Amy blushed, hiding her smile in his neck.

* * *

When she woke up again, more sunlight slipped through the curtains.

She looked up at the sound of the door opening. Sheldon entered with two cups in his hands. He wore a robe now.

"Good morning," he said, kicking the door closed with his foot. "I made you a cup of tea."

He said next to her, handing her one of the cups.

"Also, I hope you don't mind, but your phone was making a lot of noise, I brought it with me," he pulled her phone out of the pocket of his robe.

Amy felt a sense of dread in her stomach. _Her mother. _ She had said yesterday she would talk to her later. What if she had already called her multiple times?

She unlocked the screen with great trepidation. Two missed calls. And four texts.

_Could be worse, _Amy decided. She skimmed over the messages. They were demanding she call her. The first missed call was from late last night, the second from 15 minutes ago.

Talking a deep breath, Amy pressed the call button and brought the phone to her ear. The line rang twice before her mother answered.

"Amy!" her voice sounded shrill, "I expect a good explanation as to why you ignored my earlier calls."

Amy pulled the sheets around her, protecting herself from the feeling she always got when her mother berated her. "Good morning Mom," she said. Sheldon looked at her sharply.

"I was asleep," she continued, giving Sheldon an uncomprehending look. _Why was he looking at her like that? _"It was a long day yesterday."

Her mother harrumphed. "Be that as it may, Amy. I didn't care for the tone you used against me yesterday. Maybe these so-called friends of yours have a bad influence on you, if you think you can talk back to your own mother like that," her mother snapped. "And don't even get me started on that inappropriate dress you were wearing yesterday."

Amy really didn't know how her mother expected her to respond to this. So she remained silent.

"Really Amy, poor Father Michaels even made a comment about it to me," her mother continued. "If this is also the work of those two blonde girls, I don't want you hanging out with them."

Amy scoffed. She was 23 years old. Her mother couldn't tell her what to do. "Really, Mom –"

Her mother continued as if she hadn't heard her.

"Or if you're wearing those tight dresses to church to impress that Doctor Cooper, you can that stop now," her mother paused to sigh in disappointment. "Your father may like him, but I can't approve of you having a relationship with a man who is that much older than you. Are you doing this to spite me? Is this because I didn't allow it when you wanted to go to prom with that Jenkins boy?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Amy asked, surprised. She still hated how her mother interfered with all her social activities when she was an insecure girl in high school, but that really had nothing to do with her new found social life at Caltech.

"Please Amy," her mother sounded exasperated, "don't tell me you actually have feelings for this man? I hope I raised you better than this."

Amy blushed at the accusation. She wondered if Sheldon could hear her mother's side of the conversation through the earpiece. She looked up at him, he was looking at her intently, his cup of tea poised mid-air.

"Well," her mother went on, "I don't like it one bit. You stop whatever you're doing immediately."

Her mother didn't even know the half of it, Amy thought. She would have a stroke if she knew she was currently half naked in his bed and she was expected to attend his class the next day.

"Or what? I don't think you can tell me what to do anymore, Mom," Amy snapped.

"As long as I'm the one paying your tuition, I believe I can," her mother countered sharply.

Amy fell silent.

"Do you think I was born yesterday, Amy? I know how to use Google. That man is a teacher at your school. If you don't stop this yourself, I'll contact the schoolboard myself. I'm sure they'd be interested to hear what their personnel is up to."

Amy felt the sense of dread multiply within her. _She wouldn't. _Would she?

"I'm glad we've settled that," her mother said after a pause. "Really Amy. I'll set you up a nice boy your own age. Lots of women from my book club have children your age."

Amy looked down at the sheets covering her bare legs. "I'd rather stay single, Mom," she mumbled, feeling down and queasy. "Bye."

She hung up and breathed out deeply, willing her eyes to stay dry. Her thoughts were going a mile a minute. Her heart was racing.

Amy had known all this time that starting a thing – whatever it was they were doing – with her professor was probably not a great idea. But she never put much thought to what consequences it would have in regards to his job or his position at the university.

Perhaps it was a good thing they hadn't gone all the way now.

Sheldon looked at her. "Is something wrong?"

Amy shook her head. She climbed out of bed, looking for the dress she wore the day before. She should leave and focus on the work she came here to do. There was no way she would be able to pay her tuition herself. And if this crush caused Doctor Cooper to lose his job, she couldn't forgive herself.

Amy quickly dressed, forgoing the pantyhose and wearing the Batman panties instead of the pair she wore the day before – she didn't know where she left those anyway.

She heard him groan softly when she pulled the panties on. He had probably bought them for her to wear them for him in bed. _Maybe in a year or so, when I'm done studying. If he'll still have me. _

"I should go," she said to him, avoiding his eyes.

She turned quickly and walked out of his bedroom, ignoring how he called after her. Amy hurried to the door, collecting her stuff on the way.

At the door, she had trouble putting on her shoes. She was shaking.

"Amy," he called after her, just as she opened the door. He looked perplexed. "What's going on?"

Amy didn't know what to say. It was in his best interest as well that they put a stop to this. She looked away from his penetrating gaze.

"This isn't working," she said softly, swallowing down the bile in her throat, "goodbye, Doctor Cooper."

The tears didn't fall from her eyes until she reached the bus stop down the street.

_To be continued_

**A/N ****You can buy Amy's Batman panties on eBay by the way. I can't post a direct link here unfortunately. **

**I received my 350th review for this story yesterday. I don't know how to process all this appreciation. Thank you so much. **

**Please, let me know your thoughts. Especially you, Bucky. **


	26. Rationalisations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 25**

**Rationalisations**

Amy ignored his calls the rest of the day. When she didn't answer the third time, he seemed to stop altogether. Amy couldn't help but be both relieved as well as disappointed.

They had had a pretty intense night together; and not just the sex. Falling asleep in his arms had been more intimate than all the things their hands or mouths had done. The comfort he provided had been the most welcome thing after the intense day she had, saying goodbye to her beloved aunt. The naughtiness had been a bonus.

And what a bonus.

She trembled again when she recalled the night. The way he had kissed her, the promises he had made her when he had pleasured her in the bathroom, the way they almost had gone all the way.

It was a shame really that they wouldn't see it through.

The phone call with her mother had been a brutal wake up call.

Amy didn't know how she could have let her apparent feelings for Doctor Cooper cloud her judgement so. Of course her mother was right; what was she thinking, hooking up with a man that much older than she was, who was her teacher as well? It was totally inappropriate and probably against school rules, as her mother pointed out.

There was also the fact that she knew next to nothing about him, personally. While she had researched him professionally, they had hardly had any real conversations that weren't about the dirty things he wanted to do to her.

Did he have brothers and sisters? Did he have a good relationship with his mother – since his father was an alcoholic, apparently? What did he like to do in his spare time, except shop for comic related clothes?

She could count the _real_ things she knew about him on one hand.

This lust fuelled thing needed to stop. Amy just felt special and wanted since no one had ever shown this kind of interest in her before. That was all. She was almost certain she could find another man – or younger man, preferably, with whom she had the same kind of chemistry and tension filled stares.

She was sure she had made the right choice, leaving this morning.

Then why didn't it feel like a relief?

* * *

The girls texted her throughout the day. Penny expressed her disappointment for missing her at breakfast that morning. Bernadette wanted to know if "Sheldon took care of her again".

Amy answered dismissively, but not too much as if to stop them from having contact with them.

_Amy  
He was really sweet, actually. But I think it's for the best to put a stop to it. I have to focus on my studies and getting my degree. _

_Penny  
I wondered why Sheldon looked pissed after spending the night with you_

_Bernadette  
I don't see why you can't have both….Studies AND fun time with Sheldon? _

_Amy  
I shouldn't have let it go this far in the first place. It's really for the best._

She was trying to convince herself as much as them, she realised.

* * *

Amy had spent the rest of her weekend studying the neurobiological bases of addiction and the effects of nicotine on the brain. She was really advancing her study with the capuchins. But it still needed a lot of work before the study was ready for publishing. She only had two weeks left in this semester to collect all the data she needed, so she could work out all the results and write her dissertation the following semester.

Bernadette hugged her tightly the following day when she entered the lab.

"How are you doing, Amy?" she asked, pity in her eyes.

Amy was sure she mustn't look that great, but she felt somewhat okay. Knowing she was fully focussed on her academic work and not on whatever was going on – no, _had been going on _– between herself and Doctor Cooper, gave her a strange sense of calm.

"I'm okay, Bernie," she said, "really."

"You sure?" Bernadette gave her a look. "Cause I spoke to Howie, and he said that Sheldon was - -"

"I'm fine," Amy interrupted her quickly. She didn't want to hear about what Doctor Cooper was or wasn't the day before. He was just her teacher. That was all. It was bad enough she had his class that afternoon.

Bernadette still looked at her disbelievingly. "If you say so, Amy," she muttered.

"Yes," Amy said firmly. "Now, let's see if the monkeys' nicotine needs are the same with addiction to regular cigarettes as with menthols, shall we?"

She gave Bernadette a fake smile and moved towards the door behind which they kept the monkeys. Hopefully they would distract her from the upcoming lesson with Doctor Cooper that afternoon.

* * *

Amy left around lunch to shower in the decontamination lab. She quickly dressed in the spare clothes she kept in her locker, noting with disdain that she forgot to pack an extra pair of tights. _Would Doctor Cooper think she'd be attempting to seduce him again if she showed up barelegged in his classroom again? _

Amy sniffed the tights she wore earlier and she nearly choked on the smell of smoke that filled her nostrils. Doctor Cooper could just think what he wanted to think about her look; there was no way in hell she would be wearing those tights again. Going over her appearance in the mirror once more, Amy decided she looked no different than usual.

_She could do this. _

Amy entered the classroom and took her usual seat next to Howard. He gave her an awkward smile. "Hey, Amy," he said, eying her inquisitively.

"Hi Howard," she replied. Howard seemed to search for words to say, he looked really uncomfortable.

Amy didn't see why they couldn't act civil around each other. Was he sticking up for Doctor Cooper? Amy was the reason he got back together with Bernadette. If he had to choose a side, it should be hers and not his.

Before she could make a comment about this to Howard, the door to the classroom was slammed shut and Doctor Cooper marched in. Amy thought he would be angry or at least passive aggressive, but he looked around the room with an air of indifference. Which was worse.

"Good afternoon, class," he barked, and threw a pile of papers on the desk in front of him. _Maybe he was angry after all. _His eyes swept across each of the students in the class room, but left her face a lot more quickly than the others.

"As you all know from your syllabus, today will be the last time I stand before you teaching you about Analytical Mechanics," he droned on. "I will expect your final papers this Friday, eight PM the latest, there will be no exceptions. I will not fall for any excuses about failing computers or internet connections."

His eyes _did_ shift to her now, and Amy flushed.

"The provisional grades will be posted Monday morning," he continued addressing the rest of the class again, "if I find it necessary to discuss your work, am need of clarifications, or if you receive a failing grade; I will send you an invitation via e-mail to come to my office that same Monday. If you care about passing this class, I expect you to show in the allotted timeframe."

Amy looked at him. She had not put any work in this final paper yet. _Shit_. If there was one thing she didn't want, it was to spend time with him without anyone else present.

"Yes, Mister Johnson?" Doctor Cooper said to someone in the back.

"You'll be able to grade all of our papers over the weekend?" the student asked incredulously.

"Yes," Doctor Cooper replied.

"Don't you have a wife, or anything fun planned in your weekends then?" the student continued.

Doctor Cooper blinked. "I have plenty to do on the weekends, but grading papers is a part of my job. If you are so keen on me having my weekend to myself, I'd be more than happy to move the deadline up to Thursday evening instead."

The whole class was silent.

"I thought not," Doctor Cooper said icily. "Now, I'll go over Hamiltonian mechanics one final time…"

Amy tried to pay attention – really, she did – but watching the whole powerplay just now had her hot and bothered in her seat. He had used the same tone when he had spanked her in the bathroom and accused her of liking it. Which she did.

She shifted in uncomfortably in her chair. That bastard was still turning her on when he wasn't even touching her or talking to her directly.

After about an hour, he started to wrap things up.

"Now, remember; hand in your final papers this Friday at eight the latest through the secure connection on the University website," he repeated. "If you don't receive an invite for evaluation, you will have received a passing grade. Should you want to discuss your work, you can ask me via e-mail as well. Dismissed."

Chairs around her scraped the floor, Amy took a deep breath. She felt hot already. Maybe she shouldn't have gone to his class. It was of no use really, she couldn't pay attention to anything he was teaching, and listening to him served only as a way to get her worked up instead.

She got up from her chair, her legs more wobbly than she dared to admit. She walked towards the door right behind Howard, needing to get out of there as soon as possible.

Would it be totally inappropriate to go lock herself in the decontamination shower and _relief some tension_ there?

"Miss Fowler," Doctor Cooper called out. "A word please."

She froze in her tracks. Howard turned around, and he smirked devilishly at her. Amy felt her face heat up. So much for leaving quickly and not being alone with him.

She breathed out slowly and turned back around. "Yes, Doctor Cooper?" she hoped her voice sounded secure and not as tense as she felt.

He just stared at her. Amy felt his eyes bore through her once again.

The rest of the class filed out, and Amy's blood pressure only rose more.

"I'll just close the door on my way out now," Howard joked, and the sound of the door closing echoed around them.

"You wanted to see me, professor?" Amy asked, deliberately clueless.

He blinked at her. Maybe she shouldn't have called him that, but her mind had been filled with naughty thoughts and memories of the last time she wore a skirt without tights in this classroom. Oh, the _lessons _he had taught her then. And she had been such a good student then, receiving 7 out of 10 for her first time doing something.

Saliva pooled in her mouth involuntarily. She swallowed it away quickly.

_Why wasn't she able to keep her mind out of the proverbial gutter? _

"Yes," Doctor Cooper said, he spoke is his usual arrogant tone, walking towards her. "I tried to contact you yesterday, as you must have seen. Social convention dictates you either answer when someone calls you more than once, or you get back to them. Were you not raised right?"

Amy flushed. _Was he taking a hit at her upbringing now? _She opened her mouth to retort, but he beat her to it.

"And it looks like you were making a run for it just now as well," he continued, he was in her personal space now, and Amy quickly took a few steps back.

He had cornered her rather fast, she concluded, when her back hit the wall behind her.

"Do you care to explain to me why you're avoiding me all of a sudden?" he spoke lowly, caging her in against the wall. Amy's body responded to his closeness immediately.

Amy bit her lip. He was way too close now. She had trouble getting her thoughts in order when he was this close. She had told him yesterday that things weren't working out. Wasn't that enough? Sure, it was a bit vague, but she wasn't going to tell him all about the conversation she had had with her mother. _Perhaps he had been able to hear some of it through the speaker_, she suddenly realised.

Doctor Cooper raised an eyebrow at her.

"Let me take an educated guess, then," he continued, when she remained frozen in place for some reason.

"You either think this… _thing_ between the two of us is moving too fast, and instead of talking to me about it, you decided to run away instead…" he suggested. His hands were on either side of her now, but not touching her.

"_Or_ it's not moving fast enough for your liking… And you're so desperate for sex, that when I wouldn't give it to you, you decided to look for it elsewhere instead…"

He was staring at her again. His blue eyes looked straight through her.

"But things are neither moving too fast or too slow now, are they Amy?" he muttered.

Amy did her best to hold his gaze. He was onto her; the real reason she told him it wasn't working out. She should have known; he was an incredibly smart man. Besides that, the juxtaposition of her words and the things they had done during the night couldn't be greater.

"Which leaves us option number three," he said slowly, looking at her knowingly.

Amy trembled under his gaze. He was giving her a chance to come clean.

Her throat was dry however, and while she _wanted _to form words, her brain wouldn't comply. She was desperately thinking of a way to explain to him that it was for the best they put a stop to this. He was her teacher. And years older than she was.

She just couldn't get the words to pass her lips.

"Are you ready to admit that it was your mother who got under your skin?" he asked, giving her a knowing look. "She did _not _take a liking of me, unsurprisingly. And I was able to hear bits of the conversation between you two…"

Amy felt her stomach bottom out. Cold sweat gathered on her back. He mustn't think that this was because of her mother. Well, partly yes. But her mother had made a valid point. With the age thing, and the student-teacher inappropriateness. Him losing his job.

"It wasn't that," she rebutted quickly.

"No?" Doctor Cooper replied, astonished.

Amy quickly shook her head. He was still _so close_. He must be able to see that she was trembling.

"What was it then?" he questioned. "I can count the times I was wrong about something on one hand, _Miss Fowler._ I don't think this is one of them."

"It-It-It's just that…" Amy stammered. His hands had moved to her hips now, and he was holding her still.

"Yes?" he asked.

"You're my teacher, and it's probably illegal to…" her words died in her throat when he closed in on her, his face in her neck, breathing on her ear.

"Illegal to what?" he repeated. "I thought we were both consenting adults, and as long as I don't give you extra credit for sucking my dick, there's really no harm in this."

His lips moved over her ear and Amy shivered. It made her feel warm all over.

"Do you think you're the first student to fall for her teacher here? They changed the rules concerning this sort of thing years ago," he was speaking quietly in her ear now.

His hands moved lower, and grasped her butt firmly. He pushed himself into her, and Amy gasped at what she felt poking her stomach.

"Is that your only argument to claim 'this isn't working'?" he pressed.

Amy racked her brain. There was something else… What was it?

His face was close to hers now, and his lips were almost touching hers. His eyes moved over her face, taking her in. Amy was pretty sure she couldn't hide how aroused she was right now.

"Since you claim it isn't your mother who made you change your mind, it has to be one of the other things…" he muttered against her lips. "And I distinctly remember you saying you _couldn't wait for these two week to be over so you could feel me come inside you…_"

Arousal flooded her panties as he parroted her own words back to her. She whimpered softly.

"Which makes the only possible conclusion the following," he continued, "you're so desperate for sex, you would rather look elsewhere than wait two weeks for me."

He pulled back, and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Or were you lying to me when you said that?" he asked.

One of his hands had let go of her butt and moved up to her face instead. He cupped her jaw, making her look up at him.

Amy trembled with nerves. She shook her head. She hadn't been lying then, no.

"So, you want it that bad, hmm?" he asked quietly.

Amy stared at him. _What was he getting at? _

His mouth brushed over hers barely. Amy moaned softly. Her eyes fluttered closed.

"If that is what you want, and if that is the only reason for you to claim _this isn't working…_" he said between brushes of his lips against her cheek, "then I'll put aside my moral objections and take you against the wall right here."

Amy gasped. He was nibbling at her neck now.

Amy hardly noticed that his other hand had let go of her ass, and had moved to the front of his pants instead. The sound of him unbuckling his belt made her eyes shot open.

She pulled away from him and stared at him with what she could only assume was shock in her eyes.

Doctor Cooper moved into her and kissed her mouth roughly.

"I need to get my dick out for me to take you, Amy," he spoke condescendingly. "Or are you ready to stop lying to me now?"

_To be continued_

**A/N Hope this answered some of your questions from last chapter. As always; your reviews are the best, and I love to read them. **


	27. Contradictions

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 26**

**Contradictions**

_She pulled away from him and stared at him with what she could only assume was shock in her eyes. _

_Doctor Cooper moved into her and kissed her mouth roughly. _

_"I need to get my dick out for me to take you, Amy," he spoke condescendingly. "Or are you ready to stop lying to me now?" _

* * *

Amy blinked at him in shock. "N-no," she muttered, pushing at his shoulders. She was trembling in panic at his lewd suggestions. He wouldn't, would he?

"No? What do you mean, no? '_No, please stop'_ or _'no, I'm not ready to stop lying'_?" Doctor Cooper questioned, his eyes narrowing at her slightly.

Heat gripped around her heart. She didn't know how to respond. Couldn't respond.

"No," Amy just repeated, slightly breathless.

"No, you _are _ready to stop lying to me?" Doctor Cooper raised an eyebrow.

Amy could only look at him. No words came out still. She didn't know what to do now, or say. Her earlier arguments had been rendered moot after his easy dismissal of the whole "this-student-teacher-relationship-is-probably-illegal"-argument.

But her mother had been right, hadn't she? The age difference between the two of them was not as easy to dismiss after all. Plus, there were her mother's threats of stopping to pay her tuition. Amy could never pay that herself now.

She swallowed thickly. Trying to get the words out. _She didn't need to explain herself to him_, she reasoned. No means no, and he should just accept that.

But her stomach constricted almost painfully with nerves and arousal under his heated gaze.

"If you want to keep denying that you want me, Miss Fowler, then be my guest," Doctor Cooper mumbled, moving into her again, and Amy's arms fell down from his shoulders without much prompting from his part.

"But you're not that good an actress, and you were begging me to have my way with you only two days ago," he whispered in her ear now. "Now, it seems you don't want to tell me what made you suddenly change your mind, and that's fine."

His eyes looked into hers again, and Amy had the feeling he could look straight through her.

"Just don't expect me to believe these blatant lies of yours," he ended, his face close to hers now.

His mouth was on hers again, just softly, like a kiss goodbye. Amy whimpered as he moved away from her.

He turned around and fastened the buckle of his belt again. He cleared his throat. "Figure out what you want, Amy. I'll leave you be," he spoke with his back to her. "You know where to find me."

He grabbed his bag and walked out of the door.

It took Amy a couple of minutes to calm down her racing heart, before she was able to leave the classroom with shaking legs.

* * *

She tried – really, she did – to forget about Doctor Cooper or Sheldon or whatever she was calling him in her head these days. But almost everything reminded her of him in some way or another. Her apartment where he had made her tea, where he had done some wicked things to her. He had visited her in her lab once as well, to apologize for leaving her alone after '_taking care of her'_, as Bernadette liked to call it. Even her work with the monkeys reminded her of showering to get rid of the smell of smoke and then walking around barelegged – and then Doctor Cooper's head between her legs covered by just her plaid skirt.

And if all the reminders of Doctor Cooper himself weren't enough, there was the fact that Penny and Bernadette kept texting her to go have drinks with her to 'talk'.

Amy was too busy for the girls though. She only had a couple of days to complete her final paper for Doctor Cooper's class. She still didn't understand much of the Hamiltonian equations and their workings in both classical mechanics and quantum mechanics.

Time was running out.

It was already Wednesday when she finally managed to open up her schedule enough to lock herself up in the university's library to work on her final paper. There was no way in hell she was going to be one of the students who needed to be seen privately in his office to discuss her work. She just needed to apply herself with the limited time she had.

Except every Hamiltonian equation she looked at, had her flashing back to Doctor Cooper with his hand down her pants, getting her off in front of a white board filled with mistakes.

_"You gonna come for your professor, Amy?"_

Amy felt warm all over and looked around guiltily from her table in the library. Could people see how she was slowly but surely getting aroused with nothing but books on quantum mechanics in front of her? She hoped they couldn't.

She moved around anxiously in her seat.

Amy managed to focus again for some time, but after a couple of hours, when she was reading the same article twice and still not understanding it, she decided to call it quits. She packed up her books and walked out of the library. Maybe she would be able to go out for drinks with the girls after all.

She pulled out her phone as she traversed the corridors of the University, it was almost deserted now. Amy was busy pulling up the chat with the girls, and only managed to evade an opening door in front of her.

Doctor Cooper and another dark-haired man stepped out of the room, still discussing something.

Amy stopped in her tracks.

Both men turned to look at her. Doctor Cooper blinked, but otherwise looked at her indifferently. The other man eyed her from top to bottom in a leering way and Amy felt uncomfortable under his approving gaze.

"Miss Fowler," Doctor Cooper nodded, emotionless. He looked at her intensely.

"Good evening, Doctor Cooper," she answered, hoping she didn't sound too breathless. She was pretty sure she was blushing. Having him look at her like this made her body respond instantly, her heartrate quickened and her palms were sweaty.

"One of your students, Cooper?" the other man lisped, throwing Amy a grin that made her feel really uncomfortable.

Doctor Cooper rolled his eyes. "As a matter of fact, she is, Kripke," he said, sounding tired.

Amy tried to figure out why his name sounded familiar. It suddenly came back to her; he was a physicist as well. She had read some of his work, and Leonard had mentioned him. _If worse comes to worst, I'll ask Kripke_, Leonard had said. That didn't sound too positive.

"You're here pretty late… Miss Fowler, is it?" the man, Kripke, asked.

"Uhm, yes," she answered, trying not to look at him too much. The way he looked at her made her skin crawl. "I have a deadline this Friday, and I'm afraid I won't able to make it, since I'm having a really hard time understanding the subject of my paper."

Doctor Cooper's eyebrows rose just a little bit.

Kripke gave her a smile that Amy's supposed should look enticing, but really made her only more uncomfortable.

"If it's for Cooper's class, I'll be happy to help you out," Kripke said, and Amy had a hard time understanding what he was saying due to his speech impediment, "I am a theoretical physicist at this university too."

"I highly doubt it's for _my_ class, Kripke," Doctor Cooper interjected, "Miss Fowler is one of my most promising students."

"A promising student, hm?" Kripke repeated, lifting his eyebrows approvingly. "I can certainly see some… _potential_ in her, yes."

Doctor Cooper's head swivelled towards his fast. Kripke didn't see the angry look he was throwing him.

"And also," Doctor Cooper continued, raising his voice, "the paper for my class is on Hamiltonian equations. A subject I have tutored Miss Fowler in privately myself. If she were to need more help on that subject, it would be more logical for her to come to me."

Amy could only look between the two of them quickly. _What was happening?_ Doctor Cooper hadn't tutored her privately on physics _at all_. The things he had tutored her on had been physical, not physics. If she didn't know any better, she would think that he was trying to get Kripke to back off.

And thank God, really. That Kripke was really freaking her out.

She really didn't want to do this, but everything was better than spending another second in the proximity of this slimy man.

"As a matter of fact, Doctor Cooper," Amy said, looking at her teacher, "I did have a question I wanted to ask you. You mentioned an article by Polyanin and Zaitsev the other day. I wanted to use it for my paper, but I couldn't find the one you mentioned in the online catalogue."

She was lying her ass off. The last time he had mentioned those two scientists had been when right before everything had started to escalate between them. Before his confessions, before they had even kissed. Amy was sure he knew what she was doing. Didn't he say he had an eidetic memory?

If he noticed her blatant cry for help, it didn't show on his face.

"I certainly remember," Doctor Cooper said, "their articles are listed under the magazines that publish them, not their surnames. I should have mentioned that in class."

Amy was impressed by his quick thinking. She nodded along.

"I'll accompany you to the library right now to help you look them up," he continued, "if it's not too late for you, Miss Fowler."

Amy swallowed away the dryness in her throat. "No, that'd be great. I'll be able to continue first thing tomorrow," she said.

Kripke looked between the two of them. "Well, I must admire your tenacious attitude into helping your students, Cooper," he said, with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Doctor Cooper nodded. "It's really no trouble, and I do like it when my class has a high grade-average. Alright, we'll continue the math on the guidance system tomorrow then, Kripke."

And with that he stalked past Amy quickly, making his way towards the library. Amy quickly followed him. With his long legs, he was able to take much bigger steps. And his pace wasn't exactly slow either. Amy jogged after him.

"Doctor Cooper!" she called, "wait up!"

He stopped suddenly, and Amy almost ran into him, where it not for his hold on her arm.

Amy panted slightly. "I can't keep up with you walking this fast," she heaved slightly.

"I apologize," he mumbled, looking behind her in a now empty hallway, probably trying to see if Kripke was still there. "It's bad enough I have to collaborate with that man professionally, but seeing him undress you with his eyes really ticked me off."

Amy blushed. She could feel her heart start to beat out of control instantly.

Him saying things like this made her rethink her earlier determination to end this. She really couldn't deal with all these doubt right now. "So," she cleared her throat, "the library then?"

Doctor Cooper looked surprised. "I thought that was just a ruse," he said after a beat, "but I'll help you find some literature you could use for your final paper."

Amy didn't know if _any _kind of literature would help her with this paper, because she could barely understand the section on Hamiltonian equations in the syllabus. But for some reason she didn't want them to part ways this soon.

A horrible realisation came to her; _she had missed him._

She tried to swallow down the sudden lump in her throat and looked away.

"That would be really kind," she said softly. Doctor Cooper looked at her and simply nodded.

"It's really no problem," he mumbled, the volume of her voice matching hers. "I am your teacher in the first place, Miss Fowler. When one of my students asks for my help in relation to my class, I should always adhere to my duties as a professor of this university."

His voice was melodious, and its low timbre reminded her of whispered words between the sheets of his bed.

He was trying to create some sort of distance between them - he was giving her time to think and decide what she wanted after all - she knew that. But that didn't stop the thrill from going through her.

Their eyes met and Amy could practically feel the electricity between them.

She wasn't sure who looked away first, but after a few of tension-filled beats, they were both looking in different directions. Doctor Cooper cleared his throat. "The articles," he stated, as if he was reminding them both of the reason they were here at the library.

Amy nodded, and hoped the extreme blush on her face would disappear quickly. If just a look between the two of them was enough to make her almost jump him, it was probably the best if they would get on with looking up those articles as quickly as possible.

Doctor Cooper walked ahead of her, into the library and moving towards one of the back rows quickly.

There was still a hand full of students scattered throughout the library, sitting at tables, bend over books or staring into space, or behind computers, typing furiously.

Doctor Cooper turned around to look if she was still following him, and Amy caught his heated stare. Her blush returned immediately.

Her mouth suddenly felt dry and her lips felt chapped. Her tongue brushed over them, wetting them.

She saw Doctor Cooper's eyes dilate.

He halted for a split-second, and made a sudden turn right instead of continuing on towards the rack of magazines at the far end of the atrium. He kept walking further and further towards the back of the library.

Amy followed him as quietly as possible. The library had a sort of eerie vibe at this time of night. The fluorescent lights made the darkness outside feel surreal. Amy felt strange now anyway; with Doctor Cooper walking ahead of her, putting aside whatever was going on between the two of them right now and helping her pass his class like this.

Doctor Cooper made a turn left at the end of the corridor they were traversing. She had never been to this section of the library, it was almost deserted here. The row of books ended a couple of steps ahead of her, and Doctor Cooper appeared to be waiting for her at the end of it.

Amy looked to the books next to her, and was surprised to see the titles of them only mentioned words like 'palaeontology', 'Jurassic' and 'sedimentation'. Were they even in the physics section right now? She stopped in her place to look at the titles more closely. There were no magazines around here either.

Amy looked at Doctor Cooper questioningly, intending to ask him if they were in the right place. The look in his eyes made the words die in her throat. His eyes moved over her body approvingly, not unlike Kripke had done, but this time it didn't make her recoil.

Amy inhaled sharply and turned around quickly, her eyes scanning the titles in front of her. She closed her eyes and tried to take a calming breath.

She must have been imagining things.

Two days ago he had said he would leave her alone so she could make up her mind. He was just being a good professor now, helping her with her paper. The heated looks he threw her way were just a figment of her imagination.

Weren't they?

But she felt his proximity behind her. His hand closed around the edge of the shelf in front of her, caging her in. His body wasn't touching hers, but if she just moved a little bit, her back would surely touch his chest. She inhaled sharply.

_They weren't here to go over physics at all. _

"I know I said I was going to leave you be," Doctor Cooper whispered in her ear, "but how can I with you looking good enough to eat?"

Amy felt her blood run hot. She didn't think she looked any differently from any other day. She certainly wasn't wearing anything special, was she?

He moved into her fully from behind her. His other hand grasped her hip and Amy gasped when she felt the bulge in his pants press against her.

"_Fuck_, Amy," he swore quietly in her ear. Amy's heart soared. "You can't go licking your lips when you're around me, cause it makes me want to do unspeakable things to you…"

Amy felt arousal course through her. His face was in her neck, and his lips kissed her underneath her ear. She moaned inadvertently.

"Ssshh," Doctor Cooper shushed her softly. "We're in a library, Miss Fowler. You'll have to keep quiet."

Amy couldn't take it anymore. This rollercoaster of emotions she had been going through for days now. Her rationality versus her desires. Deep down she _knew_ it was a bad idea to give in to her urges, but really; her earlier arguments on why this relationship was a bad idea were starting to sound silly to even her own ears when she thought about the way he had made her feel. And still did.

Her logical thinking was losing, and losing quickly. And somehow, she was completely fine with that.

She turned around slowly. Her hands moved to the lapels of his jacket, pulling him closer. She looked at him from her beneath her eyelashes and bit her lip. Her heart was almost beating out of her chest by now.

His eyes were nearly black as he stared her down. "Biting your lip has the same effect," he muttered. His hand moved from her hip to her face. Amy tilted her head up, ready to meet his descending lips.

"Please, Amy," he mumbled against her lips almost desperately, "stop me."

She didn't.

_To be continued_


	28. Reservations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 27**

**Reservations**

_His eyes were nearly black as he stared her down. "Biting your lip has the same effect," he muttered. His hand moved from her hip to her face. Amy tilted her head up, ready to meet his descending lips. _

_"Please, Amy," he mumbled against her lips almost desperately, "stop me." _

_She didn't._

* * *

Their lips crashed against each other and Amy almost fell back against the bookshelf behind her if it weren't for his hands holding her close. She clawed at him, her hands grasping everything within her reach; his hair, his neck, his shoulders.

Amy moaned into his mouth; their tongues meeting between their opened lips. He licked the inside of her lips, of her mouth. His tongue kept brushing against hers; over and over and over. Amy was lost in the sensations of _finally_ kissing him again. It had only been a few days, but it felt like an eternity.

His hands were tugging on her skirt, lifting it higher and higher till it was bunched around her waist. She pulled away from him, breathing deeply. The excitement of their location and just _being with Doctor Sheldon Cooper _again made her reckless. He was wasting no time in moving his hand under the waistband of her tights and into her panties.

Amy shakily moved her feet apart, granting him easier access.

"Can you be quiet, Amy?" he whispered darkly, halting just before he reached a part of her that she knew had to be drenched with wetness.

Amy bit her lip again and nodded slightly.

His hand moved lower and Amy knew immediately that she lied before. She was whimpering already, and he had barely touched her. Someone gasped loudly, it could have been her or him, or the both of them.

"Christ," he exhaled softly. His fingers moved over her, exploring and determined. His fingers brushed her clit and Amy mewled pathetically.

His other hand covered her mouth quickly and Amy exhaled shakily through her nose. She looked up at him, her eyes questioning. "We're in a library, Miss Fowler," he reprimanded, his fingers caressing her harder now. Amy groaned against his palm.

"Sssh," he shushed, but his fingers played her like a fiddle. He had gotten to know her body by now and knew exactly how to turn her into a moaning and whimpering mess in his arms. Amy kept on breathing shallowly, her moans silenced by his hand on her mouth.

His fingers moved inside her and Amy felt herself reaching an orgasm fast. She moaned against his palm, and Sheldon was looking at her with an intensity that burned within her stomach, his pupils blown wide, his breath rapid.

Amy moaned involuntarily, trying to keep as quiet as possible but it was difficult with the way he was making her feel.

"Are you close?" he whispered and removed his hand from her mouth. Amy nodded, biting her lips to keep from moaning. His hand took hold of her right hand and brought it to the bulge at the front of his pants. Amy grasped his hard penis through the fabric.

He groaned softly, and let his head fall into her neck. He was panting in her ear now as well, his fingers touching that spot inside her that made her see stars. Amy wasn't really able to do much with her hand just fondling him over his pants, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Sheldon," she breathed out, the tingles in her belly reaching a breaking point. She felt her muscles clamping down on his fingers inside her. She was almost there.

His mouth covered hers quickly, silencing her cries as she convulsed in his arms. The waves of euphoria crashed through her, rhythmic and pulsing. Amy moaned in his mouth, shuddering in his arms.

She breathed through her nose, coming down from her high slowly. Sheldon was looking at her with a fire in his eyes, his cheeks ruddy and his breathing laboured.

"I'll never get tired of watching you come, Amy," he muttered, there was a twinkle in his eyes.

Amy blushed and looked down shyly. He couldn't say things like that. It made her heart flutter.

Sheldon grasped her wrist again, and pulled her hand against his privates. He pushed his hips into her hand, and raised his eyebrows at her. Amy bit her lip and grasped him through his pants.

Sheldon pulled back from her slightly and unbuckled his belt and lowered his zipper. He pulled her face closer to his and kissed her mouth heatedly. "Will you be a good girl help me get rid of this?" he murmured in her mouth.

Amy nodded slightly, and enveloped his member in her trembling hand.

She held his gaze as she moved her hand up and down. He felt hot and pulsing in her hand. He was breathing shallowly and his eyes looked through her once more. Bending forward towards her, his lips grazed her earlobe. Amy shuddered at the sensation.

"Are you willing to practice your oral skills some more, Miss Fowler?" he whispered in her ear.

Amy's grip on his dick in her hand faltered, and she inhaled sharply. Sheldon pulled back from her neck, and raised his eyebrows at her suggestively.

Amy gaped at him. _Was he seriously suggesting she get down on her knees right here in the library? _

"You showed great potential, Amy," he muttered, his fingers softly caressing her cheek, "it would be shame to let that go to waste now, wouldn't it?"

Amy swallowed thickly. His thumb brushed over her mouth, prying her lips open. Amy squeezed his erect penis in her hand. She was blushing fully again.

"The last time was at least worth an 8 of 10," he whispered hotly, "let's see if we can get that upped to a 9. You'll get extra credit for swallowing, I promise."

Amy felt a thrill go through her. She really shouldn't, but it was kind of exciting, doing _that_ in a public place like this. Besides, it seemed he had taken her to some secluded corner of the library as well. This didn't seem like a place a lot of people would go to, especially this late at night.

And what would happen if she kept up with her current manual ministrations? Where would the ehm… _stuff_ end up?

_She could just as easily swallow it down_, she figured.

She looked at him again, licking her lips in anticipation. His eyes followed her movements. His hand had moved from her face to her shoulder, and he pressed down on it, bringing her to her knees in front of him.

He grasped her face, and pulled her head closer towards him. Amy inhaled sharply through her nose as he pushed himself into her opened mouth. He barely suppressed the groan coming from his throat, while Amy wetted him with her tongue and lips, bobbing her head up and down.

She had gotten better at this, she thought, strangely proud of herself.

She gripped him with her hand again, tightly this time, and pumped him simultaneously as she moved her mouth around him. Sheldon had gripped her head, his fingers moving through her hair, holding onto her as he carefully pushed inside her. His breathing was deep and stilted. Amy kept on sucking softly, working the skin around him with her hand and taking him in deeper with each pull.

Amy blinked up at him, and felt arousal course through her veins again when she saw the heated look in his eyes.

She moaned softly around him, and his grip on her hair increased. She could feel the pulsations under her fingers increase. Sheldon was panting deeply, his groans getting more out of control with each suction motion she made around his member.

"Amy," he mumbled with a sense of urgency in his voice, "I'm gonna come…"

Amy was glad he had warned her in advance, but almost pulled back automatically when he came in her mouth. He held her head close to him, while the shots of cum filled her mouth. She gagged slightly and heard him groan deeply.

He let go of her head, and pulled away from her. Amy quickly swallowed down the mouthful of lukewarm saltiness. With the back of her hand, she cleaned the corners of her mouth from residual saliva and some of his semen. She caught his eye and licked her hand clean, hoping to look seductive. _Wasn't this what people did it porn? _

Sheldon narrowed his eyes at her. His chest was still heaving from the things she had just done to him. "Don't do that, Amy," he muttered, while he pulled up his underwear over his softening penis and fastened his pants. He pulled her up by her hands and pushed her against the bookshelf behind her.

"If you do that, it makes me want to take back my earlier promise to give you time, and bring you home to make you mine instead," he whispered heatedly in her ear. Amy's heart palpitated.

"Okay," she whispered back.

Sheldon pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Were you serious about needing help with your paper?" he muttered in her ear, his hands were moving in circles on her hips.

"Y-yes," Amy mumbled, his hands were now caressing the skin of her lower back. "Every time I see any equation I keep thinking back to that afternoon in Leonard's lab…"

He groaned in her ear. "I'll send you a bibliography to use, but I really can't help you in any other way… I can't keep my hands of you, Amy," he whispered, "please just avoid me for the next week because seeing you come apart under my fingers and then sucking me off like it's your job… it's driving me crazy knowing I can't really have you."

Amy felt a liquid heat spread through her entire body at his admissions.

He pulled back from the side of her face and looked in her eyes. "Don't come looking for me the next couple of days, I beg you," he muttered and kissed her lips again.

Amy nodded hesitantly. She didn't want him to leave, but deep down knew it was better for the both of them if they kept their distance now. This whole ordeal in the library just now was not what was supposed to happen.

She watched him walk away from her and her mind was even more of a mess then it had been the days before.

* * *

The next day, Amy had decided to stay home from her lab to finish her paper. Any passing grade would do now, she figured.

Doctor Cooper had kept true to his word and sent her a list of articles to read – some even by the authors she mentioned to him the day before. He had basically fed her the information she needed to write a good paper; he had even written out which chapters to read from which book of the list. It would surely help her pass his class, and she felt kind of bad that she had such an advantage over her other classmates.

She had just prepared a cup of coffee when her phone buzzed. Figuring it was probably her group chat with the girls again, she grabbed her phone intending to silence it for the remainder of the day. But it wasn't her group chat that had a notification.

_10:38 AM  
From: Dr Cooper  
I forgot to grade you yesterday, Ms Fowler. _

Her stomach constricted deliciously. He was still distracting her from her work now.

She grinned, and tried to think of a witty reply, when her phone buzzed in her hand with an incoming call. Her mother.

The delicious feeling in her stomach was quickly replaced with a sense of dread.

"Hello, Mom," she answered, thinking it was probably best to get this over with.

"Amy," her mother started. "I was expecting to hear from you, but since you apparently feel too good to call me yourself, I'll just call you instead."

"I've been busy, Mom," Amy said, tiredly. "The semester is ending, and I have to finish a lot of work before tomorrow."

"Oh," her mother said, taken aback. "Well, I'm glad to see you've been focussing on your work instead of those friends of yours."

"Thanks," Amy said drily. There was an awkward silence between the two of them.

"Why are you calling, Mom?" she asked eventually, after a couple of seconds of silence.

Her mother cleared her throat uncomfortably. "I may have reacted rashly when I called you last Sunday," she said, and Amy blinked in shock.

"Your father mentioned to me that that Doctor Cooper was able to help him out with a problem he had been having at work and was asking for him to join us for dinner some time. I figured you would want to come as well," her mother continued.

Amy tried to make sense of what her mother was saying.

That was a whole lot of information to process, and it made no sense to her.

"What do you mean, Dad has problems at work?" she asked, afraid to know the answer.

Her mother made a noncommittal noise. "It's not really important, it was an administrative issue of sorts. It seems that this Doctor Cooper is not only a physicist, but also a notary public," her mother sounded impressed.

This was new information to Amy, and the entire conversation still didn't make any sense to her.

"I thought you wanted me to stop whatever I was doing?" she snapped, suddenly angry at her mother's inconsistent behaviour. "Wasn't he too old for me?"

Her mother halted.

"Well, I can't say I was happy to see you that chummy with a man who is clearly much older than you," her mother said, "but he has proven to be quite helpful to your father, and you really can't miss the fact that he has been trying to get in my good graces as well by doing so. I think it's only fair I give him a second chance, despite the things he said to me at Aunt Flora's funeral."

Amy had the feeling she didn't know what was happening anymore.

"Right," she said, confused as ever.

"So," her mother seemed keen to wrap things up, apparently really uncomfortable with admitting she overreacted, "can I trust you'll let me know when he'll be available? I'm sure we can arrange something before Christmas."

"Sure," Amy repeated, clueless as ever.

"That's settled then," her mother said with a tone of finality, "now, get back to your studies. I'm not paying that tuition for nothing, you know."

Amy sat at her table, staring into space.

She was still trying to process this sudden twist when her phone buzzed again. She unlocked her screen.

_11:14 AM  
From: Dr Cooper  
I'm afraid to inform you that even with the extra credit, you did not meet my expectations yesterday._

She raised her eyebrows. What was he playing at? This was not leaving her alone to make up her mind. This was provoking her into flirting, and he was almost succeeding.

It wasn't as if she hadn't made up her mind already.

But this conversation with her mother turned the whole thing around. Her mother just called to inform her that she had changed her mind and even asked her to _bring him to dinner?_

Her mind was a mess. He had been in touch with her father. Helping him out with a problem she didn't even know about. How had this happened? And why hadn't he told her? Obviously they had had a conversation after the funeral, but Amy hadn't expected _this_.

It made her wonder what else she didn't know.

If he was talking to her parents behind her back, what else was he keeping from her?

* * *

Amy had muted his messages, deciding that his distractions would only confuse her even more.

Amy finished her paper around nine o'clock in the evening, and felt antsy from being inside all day. Bernadette and Penny were quick to meet her for drinks at the Cheesecake Factory.

"So…" Penny started suggestively, while pouring her a generous amount of wine, "will you able to give an explanation for Sheldon's sudden happy mood?"

Bernadette's eyes sparkled as she looked at Amy. "Oooohh!" she cooed. "Did something happen? I thought you were working on your paper all day yesterday and today as well?"

Amy blushed and took a rather big sip of wine.

"I was," she murmured. "I ran into him at the university last night."

Penny smirked and Bernadette squealed. Amy drank some more.

"And let me guess," Penny said, her smile suggestive, "you've changed your mind about putting a stop to this?"

Amy's mind flashed back to the things they had done in the library. His hand covering her mouth to keep her moans from being heard, his other hand bringing her to climax quickly… She herself on her knees, his intense gaze looking down at her as she pleasured him with her mouth…

She blushed and averted her gaze.

Bernadette smacked her arm. "Amy! I know this face, you had the same look about you when he came over and.. _you know_."

"I don't know!" Penny quickly interjected, leaning forward. "Tell us! You ran into him, _and_…?"

"We actually had a talk after class on Monday," Amy shrugged. "He didn't want to put a stop to this thing between us, and I told me I should make up my mind. And yesterday we just ran into each other at the university."

Penny raised her eyebrows. "And?"

"And…" Amy started, blushing like she never did, lowering her voice and talking into her glass of wine, "…and I gave him a blowjob in the library."

Penny guffawed, and Bernadette squealed again.

"Well, well, Amy," Penny said, grinning at her. "If that is your way of '_putting a stop to it'_, I'm almost afraid to know what you'll do when you actually go for it."

Amy emptied her glass in quick gulps. Her cheeks were about the same colour as the wine she just downed, she presumed. Bernadette and Penny were laughing and giving her knowing looks.

"I already knew this would be happening, Ames," Bernadette said, and Amy blinked at the nickname she had never used before. "There is a certain attraction between the two of you, that's just undeniable."

Amy shrugged, and gratefully accepted a new glass of wine from Penny.

"The library, you say?" Penny asked.

Amy nodded.

"Let me guess, the palaeontology section?"

Amy blinked at her. _How did she know?_ She felt the blood drain from her face. Was that his go-to move with all the women he was involved with?

"Oh, hahaha!" Bernadette laughed. "What a classic move. You should just be glad you were the only ones there."

Amy looked between the both of them. "What you mean?" she asked, hesitant.

"Oh, it's a just a popular make-out spot, that's all," Penny said, waving her hand dismissively. "Leonard and I have done some stuff there as well, but I never went down on my knees for him there. That does explain Sheldon's good mood, though."

Amy sighed in relief.

"And, now what's going to happen between the two of you?" Bernadette asked, "Did you hand in your paper yet?"

Amy nodded. She had decided to just get it over with and uploaded her paper after revising it once more during dinner. She had left for the Cheesecake Factory immediately afterwards.

"I uploaded it to the server tonight," Amy nodded. "I don't really know what will happen between the two of us, to be honest."

She had already told them more than she had planned. Should she tell them about the stuff her mother had said? She needed more information, and actually just wanted him to come to her and tell her about these hidden contacts he had with her parents. That wasn't too much to ask, was it? Not after all the things that had happened between them.

"Hm," Penny hummed, filling Amy's glass again. "He hasn't corrected it yet? Leonard's always talking about how insanely fast Sheldon is."

Amy's heart made a little jump. He _was_ really fast. The last time she had handed in a paper, he had graded it within a couple of hours. She moved around to grab her bag, and pulled out her phone.

She pulled up the muted text chain, and saw that he had texted her. Multiple times.

_2:31 PM  
From: Dr Cooper  
You're more than welcome to practice your skills some more. As long as it's with me. _

She swallowed thickly, her arousal building already.

_9:06 PM  
From: Dr Cooper  
You're able to upload your paper, but unable to answer my texts? I'm disappointed, Ms Fowler. _

_10:21 PM  
From: Dr Cooper  
I'll be planning a meeting with you this Monday. Your provisional grade will be posted on Monday morning, as I explained in the last class. _

Amy's stomach bottomed out. He had only wanted to meet with the students who either failed or needed some clarifications.

Amy really couldn't have done any better than she had.

With trembling hands, she texted him back.

_10:46 PM  
To: Dr Cooper  
To discuss my work? Could you at least tell me if I passed of failed?_

He had been waiting on her, she saw that he was typing almost immediately.

_10:47 PM  
From: Dr Cooper  
We have matters to discuss, yes. And since you've proven to be evasive from time to time, I'd rather we make an appointment that you can't get out of. _

Amy was blushing again.

He had some nerve, calling _her_ out, while he was the one who was keeping secrets from her. She was pissed off all of a sudden, and started to type furiously.

_10:48 PM  
To: Dr Cooper  
Will you be using that appointment to explain to me why you've been talking to my parents behind my back? _

Her heart beat rapidly in her chest. She could see that he was typing again. She was almost afraid of his reaction. Suddenly, he stopped typing and her phone buzzed with his incoming call instead.

"Yes?" she answered, trying to sound as confident as possible, although her hand was shaking.

"I don't think this is a conversation we should be having by text," he said. "My Uber will be here in 15 minutes. I trust you'll still be up when I arrive at yours?"

_To be continued_


	29. Declarations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 28**

**Declarations**

_"My Uber will be here in 15 minutes. I trust you'll still be up when I arrive at yours?" _

Amy blinked. The wine wasn't really helping her right now. "I'm not at home," she said.

He was silent for a beat. "I'd very much like to talk this out as soon as possible. Can I pick you up somewhere?"

Amy's stomach constricted with nerves immediately. She had downed two glasses of wine in rapid succession, and if she was honest with herself, she could feel the effects the alcohol had.

"I'm at the Cheesecake Factory," she said, avoiding the looks the girls were giving her.

She heard him sigh, in disappointment she presumed. "I should have known," he mumbled. "I'll come pick you up."

Before she had a chance to say anything else, he had hung up in her ear. Both Bernadette and Penny were looking at her with questioning eyes.

"Was that _Doctor Cooper_?" Bernadette said with a wicked grin on her face.

Amy blushed. "Yes," she answered, looking at the last droplets of wine in her glass. "He's on his way over to pick me up."

Penny raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Wow," she whispered. "I've never seen him this determined, not even when he was dating that Ramona."

"I know right!" Bernadette exclaimed, awe noticeable in her voice.

Since it would be some time before he would be there to pick her up, Amy decided now would be a pretty great time to finally get rid of the nauseous feeling she got whenever the girls mentioned his ex. She was about to ask them to tell her more about this relationship he had with that woman, when her phone buzzed in her hand again.

_10:57 PM  
From: Dr Cooper  
My Uber was early. I expect to be there in 5 minutes. To avoid any suggestive comments, I would kindly request you to be waiting outside for me. _

Amy blinked as she read the message. He had some nerve, expecting her to be waiting for him outside, while he picked her up without asking this late in the evening. She was about to type something along the lines of '_you'll just have to suffer through the suggestive comments'_, when Penny leaned over the bar trying to see what she was typing.

"Some dirty texting to get in the mood?" she asked, grinning wickedly.

Amy quickly shielded her phone. "No, just logistics," she muttered. "He's here earlier than I expected, so I'll be going then." Both Penny and Bernadette looked surprised at her sudden departure.

"He's not coming in for a drink?" Bernadette asked, sounding as if she already knew the answer to that.

"Are you kidding? When have you ever seen Sheldon drink alcohol?" Penny snorted. "He does _not_ behave well after drinking… Remember that time he took off his pants when they presented him that award?"

Both Bernadette and Penny burst into laughter. Amy looked between the both of them in shock. "I'm sorry?" she asked, laughing in spite of herself.

"I don't think he's had a single drink since," Penny said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Amy still wanted an explanation. Her phone was buzzing with an incoming call again, and it was Doctor Cooper. He was probably outside already.

"I'd like to hear about this pants-dropping story some other time," she said, as she grabbed her purse and her jacket. Her phone continued to buzz in her hand, annoying her.

Amy swiped across the screen, answering the call. "Yeah, I'm coming," she said, the irritation in her voice audible.

"Already?" Bernadette piped up. Penny guffawed.

Amy blushed, and she could hear Doctor Cooper splutter on the other end of the line, before he answered. "I uh… I just wanted to let you know I'm outside, if you're ready," he said, he sounded almost nervous.

"Yeah," Amy said, her stomach constricting when she registered the hesitance in his voice. "I'm on my way out."

She hung up and looked at the girls. "I'll keep you posted, I promise," she said, suddenly grateful she had these two women to confide in.

The both of them smiled at her. "Remember to use protection!" Penny called after her, winking at her.

* * *

Doctor Cooper was leaning against the side of the car, waiting for her. If this were a movie, he'd be smoking a cigarette, Amy thought. Just looking at him caused Amy to swallow thickly. He looked entirely too sexy. She really was terribly far gone, she thought, when she realised that he'd probably be wearing a comic book-themed t-shirt underneath his coat and she still thought he looked _so good_.

At the University he always wore suits, which looked great on him. She loved seeing him in his suits. It did something to her. But seeing him in his casual clothes; khakis with a windbreaker, had the same effect on her.

He looked up when he saw her come closer in his peripheral vision. Amy immediately felt self-conscious of her looks when he eyed her up and down.

He moved away from the car, and opened the door for her. "Good evening," he said. Amy just nodded at him, trying to determine his mood. He looked stoic as ever. She climbed in the car, intending to buckle up, when he climbed in after her.

_Was he doing this on purpose? _It wasn't the first time he was making her slide over on the backseat of the car, causing their bodies to brush against each other in the process. She wasn't even halfway to the other side of the backseat, when he was inside the car fully and closed the door loudly.

"The next stop please, Amir," he said to the driver in the front.

He nodded in the rear-view mirror, and they took off.

The brushes of their arms and her side against his caused her heart to beat faster. She quickly moved away from him. Amy had finally crawled to the other side of the backseat, and buckled up her seatbelt. She felt a big, warm hand on her right and she looked up into a pair of blue eyes.

"I'm sorry to cut your evening of drinking with the girls short," he said, "but I do hope you understand I want this misunderstanding between us out of the way as soon as possible."

She furrowed her brow. Was he insinuating she was drunk? She only had two glasses of wine. Sure, she could feel the effect the alcohol had on her system, but she really couldn't be classified as drunk now.

And what 'misunderstanding'? Was he going to deny talking to her parents now?

"I'm not drunk," she said.

He raised his eyebrows. His hand was still on top of hers and it squeezed her softly. "I wasn't saying that," he said, blinking rapidly.

"You were implying it," Amy countered, her voice sounded bitter even to her own ears.

"I wasn't implying anything," he said, looking at her as if he was trying to figure her out, "I was simply trying to express my gratitude for your willingness to cancel your existing plans tonight, and spend it with me instead."

Amy raised her eyebrows in surprise. _Spend the night with him? _

Doctor Cooper must have realised how it sounded. Red blotches appeared on his neck. "I mean, - -" he stammered.

"Are we spending the night together then, _professor_?"

She didn't even blush as she said it. Maybe she did have a glass of wine too many, she thought. Her tongue darted out of her mouth to lick her suddenly dry lips.

The grip on her hand tightened, and Doctor Cooper looked at her with piercing eyes. They followed the path her tongue made across her lips. Amy felt suddenly very hot under his gaze.

His thumb was on her pulse point, and she was certain he could feel her heart beating faster.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" he whispered darkly. "I already graded your final paper, Miss Fowler. No amount of mediocre blowjobs is going to make me give you extra credit."

Amy gasped in shock. That comment felt like a slap in the face. Amy tried to pull her hand away from under his. Before she could retort however, the car came to a halt in front of her building.

"Your final stop, Doctor Cooper," the driver, Amir, said awkwardly.

"Thank you, Amir," Doctor Cooper said curtly. He released her hand and unbuckled his belt. "I'll probably be calling on you later tonight, if you're available."

"I can see why," Amir chuckled, and looked at Amy in his rear-view mirror. She shot daggers with her eyes at him, as if it was the driver's fault she was pissed off. She left the car and walked up to her building without another word to either Doctor Cooper or the Uber driver.

She didn't even look back to see if he was behind her when she opened the door to her building and marched over to the elevator. It _dinged_ open almost immediately. Amy stepped inside and pressed the button to her floor, and the button to close the doors for good measure.

_He knew where she lived, _she thought bitterly, _he could take the stairs_.

Doctor Cooper only managed to stop the doors from closing with his hands just in time. He gave her an angry look.

"Amy, please," he barked, "I thought we would be able to talk about this like adults."

She blushed instantly.

"Whatever," she muttered, trying to appear unaffected by his use of her first name for the first time in _days_. They glared at each other all the way to her floor, and neither of them blinked until the doors of the elevator opened.

He made a move with his hand, indicating for her to go first. Amy walked ahead of him, towards her front door. Subconsciously, she swung her hips a little more than she usually did when she walked. Or maybe it wasn't subconsciously at all, because she pushed her bottom out as well when she inserted her keys in her front door.

She heard him groan lowly behind her and she had to suppress a smug grin. The wine made her feel reckless. And he couldn't really blame her for provoking him, could he? He had said he needed her to stay away from him, yet _he_ kept looking for her. Through her parents even.

What exactly did he think he was? Coming to pick her up when she was out with her friends, just because _he_ wanted to?

It was completely justified that she teased him a little.

His hand just brushed her hip tentatively and she quickly entered her apartment, walking out of his reach. In the kitchenette she filled the electric kettle with water, ignoring him as he entered her apartment behind her. She heard the zipper lowering and the sound of fabric moving around; he was taking of his windbreaker. Amy busied herself, grabbing two mugs from the cabinet and her selection of tea, which still didn't contain his preferred chamomile.

"Is Earl Grey alright, or would you rather have - -" she fell silent as she looked at him.

He was wearing the blue Batman t-shirt she had worn when she spent the night on his couch. She flushed as the heat coursed through her when she was immediately flashed back to the intensity of their first kiss in his bedroom, when he had grabbed that very same t-shirt for her to sleep in.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Or would I rather have?" he repeated questioningly, appearing nonplussed.

Amy swallowed quickly. "Uhm, something else?" she finished quietly.

"Earl Grey is fine," he answered, taking a seat on the couch.

Amy grabbed the two mugs and moved over to him. He was watching her walk, and she felt the tingles go up her spine as she noticed his eyes on her breasts as they bounced slightly with each step she took.

She sat next to him, putting both their mugs on the coffee table in front of them.

"So," Amy said, giving him a semi-innocent look. "If I can't improve my grade with a _mediocre blowjob_, what is it you expect me to do then, professor?"

He was silent for a beat.

"I'm not here to talk about your grade, Amy," he said, not acknowledging her attempts at flirting at all. "I thought you wanted to talk about the contact I've had with your father."

Amy just raised her eyebrows at him.

He grabbed his mug from the coffee table at took a careful sip. "I must say I'm surprised by your reaction," he stated, "you saw the two of us talking at the funeral, did you not? You never bothered to ask me what we talked about, and now you're angry at _me_ because I didn't breach the subject myself?"

He made it sound like she was the one in the wrong here.

Amy huffed. She tried to think of a witty response, but the wine made her thoughts hazy.

She didn't know how to express her thoughts; she felt left out, and it was just plain weird to think about the fact that her father had been in contact with him and she knew nothing of it. But he made a valid point; she _hadn't _asked about their conversation that day.

Why hadn't she?

_He had distracted her with his heated words and skilled fingers at his bathroom sink, _she realised.

"I didn't mean to leave you in the dark about this," he started when she was silent, "but truthfully I didn't think it was my place to share any details about your father's situation at work with you. But since he's told you now, I guess I can. I helped him out with a contract. It wasn't such a big deal, really."

Amy didn't correct his assumption that she knew everything about this 'situation'.

"Wasn't it?" she just asked, hoping he'd be more forthcoming in the details.

He took another sip of his tea. "I've been a notary public for some time now, going over contracts is a hobby of mine," he shrugged.

_A strange hobby to have,_ Amy mused.

"I'm just glad I was able to help him out," he continued, "if he had signed the original contract he would have ended up in an awful situation, in my opinion. His superiors should be reprimanded for trying to make their employees sign such contracts. Will you tell him I strongly advise him to press charges?"

Amy felt her heart palpitate. He made it sound like a small favour, but he had obviously done a great deal for her father, that much was sure. And it didn't sound like it was over yet. And while she still didn't know what had actually happened, it made her feel nervous all the same.

Her hands were clammy as she mentally prepared herself to say what she was about to say.

"You can tell him yourself when we have dinner with them," she said, trying to sound casual, but her voice was wobbly.

Doctor Cooper stared at her. Amy avoided his eyes and hastily took a big gulp of tea, burning her throat in the process. She coughed.

"I'm sorry?" he asked.

Amy wished she wouldn't blush this much. "My ehm... my mother invited you to dinner," she murmured, "invited _us_ to dinner, actually."

Doctor Cooper just blinked.

Amy stood up from the couch and walked to the kitchen in a hurry, away from the awkward situation.

"I'll call her to say you're thankful, but decline her offer. It's no big deal," she said with her back to him, running a rag over her kitchen counter to keep her hands and mind occupied.

"I'm not declining anything," his voice came from close behind her, and Amy stilled.

She turned around and looked at him sceptically.

"What?"

He shrugged. "I'm not declining her dinner invitation," he repeated, "I reckon I should be thankful that she's willing to give me chance to rectify her earlier opinion of me. It would be most unwise to decline, don't you think?"

Amy blinked at him. "I guess?" she said, confused by his response.

He was closing in on her rapidly. Amy took a step back and hit the counter behind her.

"I've been informed by multiple people in my social circle that it would be most beneficial if your parents liked me," he said softly, and caged her in against the counter, his hands on either side of her.

"Beneficial?" Amy repeated.

His eyes roamed over her face, drinking her in. He cupped her chin almost gently and pressed his lips to hers.

An electric shock went through her. He pulled back before she could respond to his kiss however.

"Yes, beneficial," he murmured. "I have big plans with their daughter, you see."

_To be continued_

**A/N: Thank you so much for sticking with me. The story is coming to an end, and it's been quite a struggle to wrap it all up. **

**I'm unable to fully express my gratitude for your continued support; it's your responses that keep me going. I'm always happy to read your reviews. **

**Please stay safe in this strange time we're all living in now. **


	30. Clarifications

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 29**

**Clarifications**

_"I've been informed by multiple people in my social circle that it would be most beneficial if your parents liked me," he said softly, and caged her in against the counter, his hands on either side of her. _

_"Beneficial?" Amy repeated. _

_His eyes roamed over her face, drinking her in. He cupped her chin almost gently and pressed his lips to hers. _

_An electric shock went through her. He pulled back before she could respond to his kiss however. _

_"Yes, beneficial," he murmured. "I have big plans with their daughter, you see."_

Amy inhaled sharply, and his mouth descended on hers again. She moaned in his opened mouth, as his lips devoured her. Their tongues brushed against each other, and it caused Amy's already aroused state to increase rapidly.

Doctor Cooper seemed equally invested in her; he pressed her against the kitchen counter almost roughly, his hands on her hips holding her firmly against him. Amy clawed at his t-shirt – _the _t-shirt – pulling him closer to her still.

He moved his mouth away from hers, kissing her jaw and moving towards her neck. His hands were firmly grasping her ass, kneading her almost. Amy gasped when he kissed – no, sucked – on her pulse point. "AH!" she moaned, her panties flooding with arousal.

"_Sheldon…"_ she mewled.

He groaned in her neck. "Or perhaps I should decline that dinner offer after all," he muttered against her neck, "I can't keep my hands off you, Amy…"

To emphasize his point, he tugged her skirt up with both hands and pushed his thigh between her legs. Amy rubbed her heated centre against him instinctively. They both groaned at the sensation.

Amy whimpered softly with each brush against him. The friction wasn't enough, but it was something at least.

_How had they ended up dry humping in her kitchen this fast? _Her thoughts were a blur. _Weren't they talking about something important? _

One of his hands was groping her breast through her blouse though, and her thoughts went back to the ache between her legs. If he would _just_ move his leg a bit higher, she would be able to hit a certain spot more easily and - -

Sheldon pulled back slightly. He was panting deeply, his eyes nearly black as he stared at her.

"We have to slow down, darlin'," he said, breathlessly, "if we keep this up, you'll end up bend over this kitchen counter with me taking you from behind…"

That didn't sound at all bad to Amy.

"Hmm," she moaned in response, "there's no need to turn me on with dirty talk, Doctor Cooper… I'm pretty aroused already."

She bit her lip enticingly at him, sure of herself that it would take him over the edge.

He groaned softly, and grasped her wrists firmly, lowering her arms and taking a step back.

"You've also been drinking tonight _and _you're still my student, Amy," he said firmly. It was quite the juxtaposition with his erect member still pressing against the confines of his pants.

Her heart sank. She was so worked up now, she had really hoped to make him forget his earlier promise to wait.

"I thought we had discussed this," he said sternly – as if he hadn't been busy groping her just now.

Amy stared at him. She pouted.

"We had," she said, taking a step closer to him, brushing her bosom against him, "but you also said you were going to leave me alone, and yet here you are in my apartment after dark."

He sighed. "I know I did," he whispered, looking down at her with fire in his eyes. His fingers were fingering a lock of her hair softly. "I just had to make sure you weren't mad I helped Larry out without you knowing…"

_He was on first name bases with her father already? _She furrowed her brow at him.

"And I really can't help it you're so irresistible to me," he muttered, his fingers had let go of her hair and were softly stroking her neck now. "But you know that already. You were trying to tempt me, weren't you?"

Amy blinked up at him with big eyes. "What do you mean?" she said as innocently as possible, while delicious heat coursed through her.

He smirked at her.

"You wanna play it like this, then?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at her. Amy inhaled when she saw the look in his eyes.

"You know I'll win this game, don't you?" he whispered. "But go ahead and pretend you weren't directing my attention to your shapely derriere when we were out in the hall just now."

Amy blushed. "That sounds like completely inappropriate behaviour for a good student such as myself," she said, trying to sound appalled.

"Oh, yes," Doctor Cooper grinned, "completely inappropriate. Coming onto a professor like that. You're asking for a punishment, young lady."

Amy's mouth dropped open in shock. He had spanked her once, in his bathroom. And she had to admit; she had liked it more than she thought she would. Doctor Cooper's grin turned into a smirk.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Miss Fowler," he said, but his eyes roamed over her.

Amy traced the Batman-logo on his shirt with her fingers. She could feel his heart thumb rapidly beneath her fingertips.

"I love this shirt," she mumbled, looking at his chest rising and falling under her hand.

"I figured," he responded. Amy looked up at him.

"Did you wear this for me?" she asked teasingly.

Sheldon narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't flatter yourself, Amy," he said brusquely. "It's simply the eleventh day of my DC shirts-rotation."

She smiled up at him. "Of course," she said, semi-serious. "What will it be tomorrow then, Iron Man?"

He raised his eyebrows at her. "If you think Iron Man is in the DC Comics, we're going to be having some problems," he said, dead serious. He paused for a moment, as if to calm himself down.

"You _must_ know that Iron Man is MCU. Right?"

It was adorable how he seemed almost panicked to find out she barely knew anything about comics. It also caused some sort of delicious warmth to spread through her when he said '_we're going to be having problems'_… Did that mean he was in it – whatever this was – for the long run?

It would seem that way. _Right_?

He called her father _Larry_ for crying out loud!

"Really Amy, you _must _have seen some of the Marvel movies. They were the highest grossing franchise for three years in a row," he said. Amy could only giggle at his antics – it was strangely cute to see him this flustered. It was such a change compared to his professor persona.

She didn't know which one she liked best.

He narrowed his eyes at her again. "Are you messing with me?" he said, a smile at the corners of his mouth.

Amy just grinned back at him. "I wouldn't dare, sir," she said, biting her lip for good measure.

His eyes dilated fully now, and he was swallowing away a lump in his throat. _Was it the lip biting? Or maybe the fact she called him 'sir'? _She would have to look into that.

"Amy," he said, sighing deeply. "Just a few more days, alright? Can you wait?"

Amy's chest constricted. She could. Probably. Maybe.

"I guess," she said, her fingers still tracing the Batman logo on his shirt, "but you're making it very hard for me like this."

"I know." He pulled away from her and walked over to the couch, pulling on his windbreaker. "I should go, before you manage to talk me out of my pants."

Amy's heart sank a little. A few days. She could wait for a few more days.

"Okay," she said. But couldn't help ask him the question that had been nagging her ever since the car ride over.

"I can't even convince you to stay with the promise of another mediocre blowjob?"

Sheldon looked at her.

"If your blowjobs were really mediocre, I wouldn't have such a hard time saying no to you now, Amy," he said, his eyes burning her. She blushed.

"Oh," she murmured.

And suddenly he was in front of her again, lifting her chin with his strong fingers. His mouth brushed against her lips softly. Amy felt her heart beat faster immediately.

"I'll see you Monday," Sheldon said, pulling away. "I was thinking of pencilling you in at 4:30. Your schedule allows it, so that shouldn't be a problem."

Amy blinked at him. "Pencilling me in?"

"Yes," he said. "To discuss your paper."

"I thought that you just wanted to talk to me," she said, caught off guard that he was getting into professor-mode again.

"And we just did," he said. "And come Monday we will discuss your final paper. I thought that was clear?"

Amy gaped at him for a second. "Ehm, sure," she said. "Did I pass at least?"

"You'll find out Monday morning with the rest of the students," he said with some finality.

Amy took a step back. Taken aback by this distant tone. "Alright," she mumbled, looking away from his face.

"I'll see you then?" he asked, more softly this time.

"Yeah," Amy replied, avoiding his eyes. She felt weird suddenly, and she couldn't really pinpoint why.

"Alright," he said. "Good night, then." And with that he left.

Amy stood there for a long time, trying to make sense of the conflicting thoughts and feelings going around in her head.

* * *

Amy woke up to her phone buzzing with text messages. She felt a slight sting of disappointment when she saw no new messages from Doctor Cooper, just the girls.

_Penny  
Amyyyy…. Are you up yet? You gotta spill! _

_Bernadette  
Oh, yes! Did Dr Cooper give you a 'private lesson' Hahaha_

_Penny  
Well… I heard him come home, so he either left after teaching or it never came to that…_

_Bernadette  
Maybe Amy is a quick student tho. Lol. _

_Penny  
Hehe. I should think so yeah_

_Bernadette  
Amy! Wake up! We want details! _

Amy opened the group chat. She didn't really know what to tell them. He had taken her home; they had talked about her parents – the girls knew nothing of this – and then they had made out. It wasn't really that exciting. Certainly not more exciting then what had happened between them in the library or in his classroom. Or Leonard's lab. Or his bathroom. Or his bedroom.

When she listed all of the locations they _had_ done dirty stuff, Amy couldn't help but feel a little scandalous. Who would have thought moving back to California would have her experiencing these kind of exciting things! With her teacher no less…

Her teacher. He had behaved strangely last night, right before he left. Gone was the more laid back Sheldon who flirted and joked about comic books, and Doctor Cooper had returned. All business when he mentioned how he expected her to come to his office to discuss her paper.

_Why? _

Wasn't he the one who called her out before on her inconsistent behaviour? Giving her so-called time, but in the meantime he continued to proposition her, in libraries, in his classroom, and now even in her own home.

Was he trying to create some sort of distance between them now, by reverting back to his earlier professor persona? It seemed obsolete now, with everything they had done. And the planned dinner at her parents as well. Didn't he say he had 'big plans' with her? What did that mean?

With him being almost two people in her head now, she really needed help. From women who knew what she was dealing with.

Taking a deep sigh, she started typing.

_Amy  
I'm up. You guys available for drinks tonight? I could use your advice. _

* * *

Amy opened the door to her apartment for the two blondes later that evening. They were both holding up bags filled with whatever they deemed was necessary for a girls night; which was mainly wine and popcorn.

Amy couldn't really complain.

After about two glasses of wine, Amy felt loose enough to voice the concerns that had been nagging her all day long.

"So," she started. And Penny and Bernadette looked up at her; both with questioning eyes.

"Yes?" Bernadette said, taking a sip of her drink.

"I wanted to ask you something about Sheldon," Amy said, unsure of herself .

"We kinda figured," Penny said. "What's up?"

Amy didn't really know how to start. She just couldn't make sense of his behaviour. One minute he would be flirting with her, and the next he was treating her like she was just one of students. She wasn't, was she? He had come to the funeral to support her. And "taken care" of her before that, when she had felt really low.

Maybe he was just interested in her physically?

That _did _seem to be the one thing they kept going back to – performance reviews on blowjobs, handjobs in libraries, dirty talk between the sheets of his bed.

He wanted her, that much was sure. But did he want her for _her_, or just her inexperienced body? Did he make a game out of it? Making her wait so she would be really desperate for him?

Who knew what would happen after they had had sex. What then?

"Amy?"

She didn't know what to think anymore.

So, she just spilled it all. The things they had done; in the bathroom at his apartment after the funeral, in his bed the morning after. The things he had said to her; how he wanted her, but they would have to wait until she was no longer his student, how he had been in contact with her father behind her back, the complete 180 he did last night…

Both blondes kept their mouths shut until she was finished talking.

"That man, I swear," Penny just said.

"Well," Bernadette chimed in. "At least he learned from that whole ordeal with Ramona, keeping it somewhat clean until it's no longer frowned upon."

"True," Penny said, taking a sip from her wine.

Amy felt the ground beneath her disappear. _What did that mean? _

"What do you mean?" she asked, afraid to hear the answer. This was the umpteenth time either one of them mentioned his ex. It bothered her that she didn't know the whole story behind it.

"Ramona was his co-worker," Penny said. "They worked together on some sort of project or a paper? I don't know what about, but bottom line is they did a little more than just _work_ together if you know what I mean…"

Amy knew what she meant, yes. She felt slightly nauseous.

Bernadette guffawed. "According to Howie they were at it like bunnies," she said. "It was before you came to Caltech and before he started teaching, so you probably haven't heard about it. It was quite the scandal."

"Oh?" Amy's voice wavered. "When was this?"

"Right before he started teaching, I think?" Bernadette said, looking at Penny for confirmation.

Penny emptied her glass and refilled it in quick succession. "Uh, yeah," she said, giving Bernadette a knowing look. "If it weren't for that little dalliance, he wouldn't have gone into teaching at all. It was either take a job in a different department of the university, or resign altogether."

Amy stared at Penny. Things were starting to fall into place somewhat, but it was still a lot to process.

"_What_?" she whispered.

"He hasn't told you any of this?" Penny asked, slightly surprised.

Amy just shook her head 'no'.

Bernadette seemed to sense her discomfort. "You know," she said, "I get why he hasn't told you. I mean, she tried to ruin him professionally after he ended things between them."

"Yeah," Penny nodded along. "That was not a fun time to be living across the hall from him."

Amy's thoughts were racing. It made sense. The amount of papers he had written was insane. Even a man as smart as he would simply not have had the time to write that much with a full time teaching job. And hadn't Ms Davis said that he was fairly new to teaching when they first met?

Why had she never asked him what made him choose teaching? It wasn't as if he seemed to enjoy teaching _that_ much…

"Anyway," Bernadette said. "It all worked out for the best. Didn't Ramona transfer to UCLA? If you think about it… If it weren't for her, you wouldn't even have known Sheldon. Isn't it funny how things work out?"

Amy wasn't able to laugh though.

* * *

She dressed carefully Monday, in her usual conservative style. She would be going to this appointment to talk about her paper, nothing else. Amy figured if she dressed uninvitingly, he would stay away from her. He was trying to create some distance between the two of them, wasn't he? She was just going along with his course of action.

Her entire Sunday had consisted of thinking about the stuff the girls told her.

She finally knew more about the elusive Ramona, and she thought she had been better off not knowing. She felt strangely jealous of her; _they were at it like bunnies_, Bernadette had said. And apparently they were colleagues who enjoyed each other's company inside _and_ outside the workplace.

Penny had made it sound like Sheldon almost lost his job because of this. Why else would they have transferred him to a teaching job? Amy had looked up his bio on the University website, and he was listed as a Senior Theoretical Physicist before he became a teacher. It was quite the step back.

Now she didn't have to wonder why he knew so much about what rules the University enforced about relationships. Just a week ago, he had told her how familiar he was with the rules about students dating their professors.

Again, she had thought nothing of it.

She was done being naïve though. She wasn't going to fall for his sweet-talks anymore. It was time to confront him once and for all.

She took a deep breath and knocked on his office door at 4:30 sharp.

The door opened, and Doctor Cooper came into view. He had taken off his usual suit jacket, and he looked way too good with his sleeves rolled up.

"Ah, Miss Fowler," he said, a sparkle in his eye. "Please, come in."

She just glared back. His resolve faltered for a bit when he saw the icy way she looked at him.

Amy took a deep breath, and entered his office.

_To be continued_

**A/N The end is getting nearer and nearer. Thank you for sticking with me! I love your responses so, so much. **

**Please stay home and stay safe all. **


	31. Misconstructions

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 30**

**Misconstructions**

_"Ah, Miss Fowler," he said, a sparkle in his eye. "Please, come in." _

_She just glared back. His resolve faltered for a bit when he saw the icy way she looked at him. _

_Amy took a deep breath, and entered his office. _

"The grades you posted this morning were pretty clear to me, Doctor Cooper," Amy said, taking off her bag and sitting down in the chair at the front of his desk. "I'm curious to see what you would like to talk to me about, considering you gave me a C+."

Doctor Cooper halted for a split-second, before he took his seat behind his desk again.

"Why do you think I asked you to come in last today, Miss Fowler?" he asked.

Amy gave him a look. "To discuss my paper, surely?"

He stared at her. "Of course," he said after a beat.

Amy felt her body temperature rise already. She had to remain calm. It was absolutely essential now. They had things to discuss; namely what the hell they were doing. She needed to know if he actually felt something for her, or if he just found her attractive and wanted a little fun time.

She didn't like the idea of becoming another notch on his bedpost, or a replacement of this skinny colleague he used to fool around with. But if that was the only option he was willing to give her, she would just have to accept that. Maybe.

Doctor Cooper pulled out a printed copy of her paper.

"You already know your final grade, obviously," he said, and his hands seemed to be shaking when handed her the paper. "But there are some points which could be improved, and you might be able to get some extra credit. Your final grade could become a B if you clarify some of the passages in this."

Amy took the paper from him and leaved through it. He had scribbled quite a few questions in the margins, and circled passages with question marks next to it. When she looked at it now, she was surprised she had even managed a passing grade.

"Alright," she said after she read through some of his remarks. "When would I have to hand in the revised version then?"

Doctor Cooper was looking at her, his brow furrowed slightly. It was almost as if he didn't understand why she was being so distant with him.

"The day after tomorrow in the latest," he muttered softly. "I'll have everything graded and the final grades will be posted online Friday morning; the last day of the semester."

Amy blinked. _The last day of the semester_. He would no longer be her teacher that Friday. There was a time when she had been counting down the days till that moment, but right now, she couldn't get too excited by the thought of the semester being over – she was too conflicted still.

Would he expect her to be waiting for him that Friday? They had sort of made a promise to each other.

But now she didn't know she even wanted him anymore. All this talk about him that weekend had made her question him; his integrity as a teacher, or as a professional scientist. He had been involved with a _colleague_ in the past, and now he was trying to get it on with her; a student. What was she supposed to think, really?

It just didn't seem ethical. Luckily, they hadn't done _it_ yet, she figured. At least her innocence was still there, although if it had been up to her it wouldn't be. And really, the other stuff they had done couldn't _really_ be classified as innocent.

She was just going to see if she could get him to admit it himself; his dalliances with his colleague. And his intentions with her as well. She was going to resist him.

Though he did look very hot in his button-down with his cuffs pushed up to his elbows, his tie loosely around his neck. Resisting this was going to be a challenge.

"Thank you for this opportunity, Doctor Cooper," Amy replied. "I'll start working on it as soon as possible then." She bent forwards, stuffing the printed version of her paper in her bag.

"Amy," Doctor Cooper said.

She looked at him questioningly. "Professor?"

A vein in his neck started to throb as he stared at her. "_Miss Fowler_, then," he said, "why do you think I pencilled you in as my _last_ appointment of the day?"

Amy blushed. She had a hunch.

"I don't think the time of the appointment matters, Doctor Cooper," she said – riling him up on purpose. "But I'll leave then, since your workday is over now."

She made a move to get up from her seat.

"Amy, please!" he exclaimed. "Will you cut this out?"

Amy sat down again and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked at him defiantly.

"And then what?" she said, raising her eyebrows at him. Doctor Cooper looked flustered.

"Why are you acting like this?" he asked, and Amy felt some sort of sick satisfaction that he was this confused by her behaviour.

"Like what? I thought this appointment was to discuss my paper," Amy said. "We have just discussed it, so I plan to leave. Or was there something else you wanted? _Doctor Cooper_?"

His face was flushed, and he inhaled deeply through his nose. He didn't blink for an extremely long time. Amy tried to keep her stoic expression.

"There is plenty I want," he said slowly. "Which you already know."

"Yes," Amy answered equally slowly. "You want me to revise the second-to-last paragraph on page 7 and the final conclusion on page 13. And fix some other bits in the middle."

The vein on his neck appeared to be popping out of his skin.

"I'm not talking about your paper, Amy," he said firmly, his hands were squeezed to fists on his desk.

Amy blinked at him. She was getting flushed as well.

"What else could you possibly want from me?" she asked, and she was surprised herself by how steady her voice sounded.

"What could I - -" he repeated, incredulously. "Dear lord, Amy. You're acting like there is nothing going on between us!"

"Aren't you still my professor?" she asked.

"Well, yes, but - -"

"Then I think I'd better go now," Amy interrupted him, "we wouldn't want another scandal to happen now, and have you demoted even further, hm?"

It was a low blow.

Doctor Cooper whitened considerably. But his eyes narrowed at her in anger.

"Is that what this is about?" he said, crossing his arms. "You want to talk about my past?"

_He was pissed off. _Before Amy had a chance to blink, he continued.

"I should have known when Penny came home drunk Saturday night," he muttered. "She probably told you everything already, but if you think I'm going to make excuses for something that happened almost two years ago, prepare to be thoroughly disappointed."

Amy opened her mouth to retort, but he didn't let her get a word in edgewise.

"What do you want to know? Yes, I had a sexual relationship with a co-worker. It lasted four months. It meant nothing to me but stress relief and a way to clear my mind after days of hard work. When I found out it meant more to her, I ended it."

He paused. "It's safe to say she did not like that."

"Is that all?" Amy said in disbelief. "I heard you got demoted because of this… Or am I supposed to believe you _wanted_ to get into teaching after spending your entire academic career doing research in string theory?"

He inhaled sharply and Amy thought he looked like a raging bull.

"Taking this job as a professor wasn't a demotion per se," he said – red in the face now, "but I couldn't keep working in the same department as the woman who blackmailed me by threatening to accuse me of plagiarism and sexual assault, if I didn't continue having sexual encounters with her."

Amy felt bile rise up in her throat. This ex of his was seriously messed up. Why had she felt the need to question him about this? She had been insecure about her feelings for him, yes. But that didn't really justify her prying like this – although she did feel like she had the right to know more than he let on. She hardly knew anything about him.

"Are you happy now? Knowing this about me?" he asked, venomously.

Amy blushed in shame. She wasn't. She looked away from his staring eyes.

"You could have just asked me anything you wanted to know, Amy," he continued, more subdued. "I don't like to talk about this part of my past, because of obvious reasons. But that doesn't mean you get to draw your conclusions by whatever Penny and Bernadette tell you."

Amy shifted in her seat. He made a valid point.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Doctor Cooper nodded, indicating that he heard her.

"But in my defence," Amy murmured, "It's not like you talk about your past or yourself much, if at all."

His lips curled up in a half-smile. "Well, it's hard to talk when my mouth is between your legs, now is it?"

Amy blushed. She fiddled with the hem of her skirt. He mentioned it so casually, and without a hint of shame. It made her feel embarrassed almost, when she thought about her total lack of experience before she met him.

"That's not _all_ we've been doing," she whispered.

"No," Doctor Cooper agreed, smirking, "but it could have been what we were doing _right now_ if you hadn't brought up my ex. No offense, but talking about her doesn't get my motor running."

Amy exhaled softly.

That settled it then.

He had made this appointment with her this late in the afternoon because he wanted to get down and dirty with her. She was turning out to become one of the notches on his bedpost after all. At least she could stop contemplating his intentions now. She had been going crazy thinking about it.

In a way, it felt like a relief. Knowing he just wanted her for the sex.

She didn't have to worry about her own feelings that way. She would just have to bury them away, and they would disappear soon enough.

And in another way, it didn't feel like a relief at all.

She would have liked it, if he wanted more than just the physical stuff. But that wasn't his thing apparently. Hadn't he classified this thing with his ex as "a sexual relationship"? Stress relief, he had said. He didn't make it sound like he wanted anything beside that.

She should respect that, she guessed. Amy exhaled slowly again.

"Amy?"

She looked up at him, and cursed herself for feeling the tears well up in her eyes. "Yes?"

He blinked at her. "Was that all you wanted to know? Since we're talking now?"

Amy nodded quickly. _Yes, he had been perfectly clear. _She would just have to come to terms with the fact that there were no feelings involved from his side of this… _thing_ – just attraction between them.

Which was fine. She would be just one of his conquests – she probably wasn't the first student he had done this with – and would gain some knowledge about sex in the meantime.

It was a win-win situation. She just needed to come to terms with it.

"Yes," she said. "I'm sorry you didn't get the ehm… _stress-relief_ you wanted this afternoon. I didn't really know that was the point of this appointment. You made it sound like a professional meeting Friday. If I'd known otherwise, I wouldn't have worn tights…"

He looked confused.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "This _was _a professional meeting… And while I prefer you without tights, I don't really know what you mean. 'Stress relief'?"

Amy blushed all over. Did she have to say it?

"You know…" she whispered conspiratorially, "a blowjob or something?"

He stared at her.

"I'm new to this," Amy mumbled weakly when he didn't respond, "I don't know what you expect from this. What do the other students do in meetings like these?"

He looked at her like she slapped him across the face.

"Excuse me?" he hissed.

Amy hesitated for a second. "I-I-I thought that –" she started.

"If you have any intelligence _whatsoever_ Miss Fowler, you shut mouth right now," he snarled. "I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, but your assumptions couldn't be more far off."

He pushed at his desk almost angrily, and got up. He stalked towards her.

"_Other_ students?" he repeated.

"I do _not_ go around bedding my students," he emphasized. "If I did, I would have had you under me _weeks_ ago… And am I to understand that is how you see me?"

He had her cornered now, standing in front of her, while she trembled in her seat. This was taking a turn she didn't really understand.

"W-well, you were just talking about how you tend to end things when - -" Amy stammered.

"How I ended things with a woman I felt nothing but physical attraction for, yes," he interjected sharply.

Amy's throat went dry.

"It turns out my intentions with you weren't as clear as I thought," he muttered.

Amy's stomach constricted in itself. Heat flushed over her. _What did he mean? _

"Tell me Amy," he said, "if I just wanted you in bed with me, why would I bother going to your aunt's funeral? In a _church _no less, a building my own mother can I only get me to enter once a year? Or why would I go out of my way to meet your parents? Get your mother's approval? Do a pro bono case for your father?"

Amy had trouble breathing.

"I don't go around buying presents for just anyone. Do you know what kind of reciprocity the act of gift giving implies?"

Amy blinked. She felt like she was steadily developing a fever. She was hot all over. He was telling her things now that made her think maybe he did want more than just sex from her.

She didn't know how to respond.

"Here I am, thinking it's all so obvious, but I should have known you would let yourself be corrupted by those women and their talks of my past," he shook his head.

Amy felt affronted on their behalf; if it weren't for the girls, she wouldn't even have known him like this. She was about to open her mouth and defend them when he beat her to it.

"I couldn't have been any clearer with my intentions, if you ask me," he continued, walking back and forth in front of her. "But instead here you are, thinking I do this every semester apparently, with a different girl…"

Amy blushed. _Okay, so maybe not_.

He came to a halt and turned to look at her.

"Do you think I planned for this to happen?" he asked cynically. "Falling in love with you?"

_To be continued_

**A/N I'd like to thank Liv for her help getting this chapter where it needed to go. **

**As always; stay home and stay safe. Be kind to one another in these difficult times. **

**Leave me review and make my day. **


	32. Reconciliations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 31**

**Reconciliations**

_"I couldn't have been any clearer with my intentions, if you ask me," he continued, walking back and forth in front of her. "But instead here you are, thinking I do this every semester apparently, with a different girl…" _

_Amy blushed. Okay, so maybe not. _

_He came to a halt and turned to look at her. _

_"Do you think I planned for this to happen?" he asked cynically. "Falling in love with you?" _

Doctor Cooper appeared almost out of breath, or in the very least really worked-up. He was red in the face and he looked at her with a shocked expression on his face; as if he hadn't planned to blurt out that last statement.

Amy was too shocked to reply. She gaped at him, unable to form words.

Her heart was in her throat, preventing her from speaking. She made a few non-committal sounds before she was able to say anything coherent. She was unable to reply to this confession, so she just stuttered out the first thing of all his statements that had confused her.

"W-wha.. p-presents? W-what presents? What do you mean?"

_Or maybe not so coherent after all. _

Doctor Cooper's eyes widened as he shot her a look. Probably because she wasn't responding to his latest statement, but something he had said before that.

She couldn't respond to what he just said. She just couldn't. Her body was flushed with heat. Her mind felt like it was stuffed with wool, making it unable to think about or even register fully what he had just blurted out to her. _Do you think I planned for this to happen? Falling in love with you? _

He was in love with her.

Her heart beat rapidly, almost bursting out of her chest.

_In love._ With her.

Nope. Not able to process it. At all.

He gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine, ignore what I said then," he muttered angrily. "And yes, presents. Plural. Well, according to Leonard the Batman underwear doesn't count, but I think this one does."

He had moved to a messenger bag next to his desk and grabbed a neatly wrapped box. He put it down on the desk rather forcefully, in the same spot her paper had just been, before she had stuffed that in her bag.

Amy blinked, looking down at it. _What could he have possibly gotten her?_

"What is this?" she asked with a small voice.

"It doesn't really matter now, does it?" Doctor Cooper snarled angrily. "You can open it later, when you're at home, thinking about all the _other students _I'm doing God-knows-what with, or when you're having wine with those blonde bimbo's who feed you all sorts of half-truths about me."

Amy felt as if her blush couldn't get any bigger.

He was angry – not just angry though, almost livid – about her earlier assumptions. But really, it wasn't as if she was to take all the blame for these misconceptions. He hadn't really been forthcoming, had he?

"Well, that's uncalled for," she said, feeling angry herself.

"Is it?" he hissed, "you've just made some very serious allegations about not only my character, but my integrity as a professor as well!"

Amy felt a strange mixture of embarrassment and aggravation. Maybe she had been wrong to assume all this about him, but what was she supposed to think? All the signs pointed to him being kind of loose with either his students or his colleagues. How was she supposed to know about all his 'extracurricular activities'? Buying presents, his aversion to churches and going to the funeral anyway, doing cases for her father…

And also, he had never _said _anything before all this! The only thing he had said was that he wanted to wait with sex. Which made perfect sense to past-Amy, considering his scandalous past with a colleague.

He had done nothing to make her think better of him, and now he was mad at her that she had drawn the wrong conclusions?

"Well, what was I supposed to think? Based on the currently established parameters of… _whatever _this is between us, how was I supposed to know you wanted anything besides physical relations with me?" Amy asked.

Doctor Cooper sighed deeply.

"I may have been reluctant in voicing my intentions," he said, "but I had assumed you were intelligent enough to read between the lines as it were – or at least to draw some accurate conclusions about my behaviour towards you, Amy."

She stared at him. Her stomach still constricted with nerves.

_He was in love with her. _

"I couldn't have been any clearer than I already was," he repeated.

Amy bit her lip. She didn't know how to respond. She stalled, hoping something would come to her. The current situation was not only incredibly awkward, it was painful as well. Insults had flown back and forth, about her intelligence and about his questionable behaviour.

They were left with some sort of impasse.

Amy couldn't find any words to say. _He was in love with her. _She still couldn't process it.

"You have until Wednesday evening to hand in your revised paper," he stated after she was silent too long, while taking his seat behind the desk again. "Please, take everything with you and see yourself out."

He busied himself with some papers. The tendons in his half-bared arms flexing. Amy swallowed thickly. _Would this be the last time that she could ogle him like this? _

She had to act now, before it was too late.

"Sheldon…" she murmured.

He looked up at her, one of his eyebrows raised in a perfect arch.

"That's _Doctor Cooper_ for you, Miss Fowler," his tone was indifferent and he quickly looked away from her again. "And the door is right behind you, since you seem to have trouble locating it."

Amy's heart sank. Maybe it was too late already.

She grabbed the neatly wrapped box from the desk, and her bag from the floor, and hastily made her way out of his office.

* * *

Amy didn't really know how she got home after this. Everything passed in a blur. She realised she should be happy that she hadn't been in an accident, with her reckless movements through the university and traffic.

She took a seat on her couch and replayed the conversation between herself and Doctor Cooper – _Sheldon_ – in her head. As much as she could, it was all a blur in her head.

In hindsight, all his explanations made perfect sense. He had asked her to come in his office as his last appointment of the day. _Had he been meaning to ask her out? _But she had been spiteful and stubborn. It hadn't been pretty, how she had accused him of having affairs with multiple students or had questioned his integrity.

Especially when she replayed his arguments in her head. His presence at the funeral, in a church. He was a physicist, it made sense that he wasn't religious. Yet he had come. Not only that, he had spent his evening taking care of her when she hadn't shown up to their appointment. He had held her as she cried about Aunt Flora and her difficult relationship with her mother, he had made her food and he had stopped her from doing something she might have regretted later.

And at the funeral, he had stood up to her mother. Which caused him even more work later when he had to work even harder for her approval. And then her father. With his troubles at work she knew nothing of, and he had sorted it out like it was no big deal.

But even before all that, there was all the other stuff. Zack, and his attempt to grope her in that bar. He had held her that time and seen her home. She recalled their hugs and how she had been so nervous around him afterwards.

Then there were of course all the dirty things they had done. And when she looked back on those – in the lab, in his classroom, in her bed, at his apartment, in the library – he had been teaching her even then, but he was patient with her and had always made sure she _enjoyed_ herself. Their physical attraction was undeniable.

Yet, despite all this, she had completely misinterpreted his intentions with her.

_Falling in love with you. _

Her heart felt warm. She took a shuddering breath.

She had screwed up by not responding to that. Hopefully he would understand that she needed some time to herself before she could truly give the response she wanted to give him.

The wrapped up gift in her bag caught her eye. With trembling hands, she unwrapped it carefully. A soft pink music box came into view. She recognized the pattern immediately. Her breath caught in her throat as her ears were flooded with the ghost of Aunt Flora's laughter. She could practically _smell _Chanel no. 5.

She tightened the screw on the back, and opened the lid of the box. Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake played as the figurine of the ballerina in front of the mirror twirled around.

Her heart constricted painfully in her chest, and a sob escaped her throat.

* * *

Bernadette helped her revise her paper the next day, she knew next to nothing about physics, but Sheldon had corrected her paper so thoroughly, Amy basically only needed to copy his feedback.

"So, uhm…" Amy tried to start, while she opened a bottle of wine. "I wanted to talk to you about Do- Sheldon."

Bernadette smirked at her. "Obviously."

Amy gave her a look.

"Yesterday when I was in his office to discuss my paper," Amy started. "He ehm…"

"Yes?" Bernadette questioned.

"Well, he kinda told me he's in love with me," Amy blurted out, "and I didn't really respond. So he made me leave and now I don't really know what to do."

Bernadette's eyes couldn't get any bigger. "He said what now?" she squeaked.

Amy blushed. "I don't think he meant to say it though, he was pissed off. I was accusing him of just wanting a sexual relationship with me, like he had had with that ex of his…" she trailed off. "But I mean, what was I supposed to think? All we ever did was rile each other up until one of us cracked and we ended up doing sex-stuff… "

Bernadette just took a sip of her wine.

"You're so insecure, Amy," Bernadette said after a beat. "I think you only thought that because deep down you can't believe someone might be interested in you for _you._"

Amy looked at her. She felt called out. Of course she was insecure. And why would a man like Sheldon want her? It wasn't as if she was particularly pretty, or skinny, or had big breasts. It made no sense.

"It's so funny you don't see it," Bernadette said, smiling at her. "He is so into you. And why wouldn't he be? You're a great girl, Ames."

Amy shrugged. She wasn't convinced.

"If only you could see the way he looks at you when you're not looking," Bernadette continued. "And if I hear Howard complain one more time about how Sheldon won't stop talking about you or mentioning you whenever he has the chance, I'm going to throw a fit."

Amy perked up, a little.

"So, you screwed up?" Bernadette asked. "What did you say when he told you he loved you?"

"I asked him what he meant when he said he had gotten me presents," Amy mumbled, sipping her wine.

Bernadette guffawed. "Auch," she said sympathetically.

The both of them took a sip of their wines. "Yeah," Amy said quietly. "And he got me the most thoughtful gift."

She showed Bernadette the musical jewellery box and explained to her it was exactly like the one her great aunt had. Together they watched the ballerina twirl around and listened to the oboe play the recognizable tune still she stopped twirling.

"But your mom threw it out?" Bernadette asked, confused.

"This is not the _actual_ music box my aunt used to have, but it's the same make," Amy mumbled. And she realised together with Bernadette that Sheldon must have asked her mother about it, so he could get her the same one. She swallowed thickly.

"Amy?" Bernadette interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"How _do_ you feel about Sheldon?"

Amy blushed and fiddled with the hem of her skirt. Apparently neither one of them had been really obvious in their intentions.

"Say no more," Bernadette winked. "Damage control it is, then. We can fix this, Ames."

* * *

The next days passed in a blur. Amy uploaded her revised paper to the digital server on Wednesday morning, after going over it one last time. She had a light headache from the bottle of wine she and Bernadette had finished the evening prior.

The last three days of the semester were spent running around the lab. The monkeys had gone crazy when they had switched the regular cigarettes to herbal cigarettes or, in some cases neglected to give them any cigarettes altogether. Most of the time in the lab was spend either avoiding flying faeces, or running around with the fire extinguisher putting out the fires the capuchins were deliberately starting with their lighters because of their nicotine withdrawal.

She and Bernadette had been working nights trying to finish up their work.

She had been so busy with everything – the results, the tests, the bloodwork – that she had had barely any time to think about Sheldon or her final grade.

The fact that neither of them had tried to contact the other was bothering her.

She wasn't sure if she should be the one to seek him out – he was still her teacher. Not anymore after today. But still.

With every passing day she felt worse for how she had reacted to him. Or how she hadn't reacted to him, to be more precise. She hadn't even send him a text to thank him for the music box. And he hadn't send her any message whatsoever to let her know he had received her revised paper.

On Tuesday, Bernadette told her that she would be able to fix something up to return the favour. If it weren't for Amy's meddling, Howard and Bernadette would still be mutually pining over one another after all. Amy wondered what she was cooking up.

Amy was towel drying her hair when she re-entered the lab that Friday afternoon. She had just taken her last shower of the year in the decontamination room, and she looked forward to never showering there again.

Bernadette had showered before her, and was sort of dressed up. She was wearing a dress that Amy had never seen before at least.

"Hey," Amy said, surprise evident in her voice. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Correction, _we _are going somewhere," Bernadette grinned at her.

Amy frowned at her. She was in the usual sweats she wore after showering in the decontamination room, having spent the day working in the lab, surrounded by smoke and smelly monkeys. The clothes she had worn during the day were definitely not fit to be worn again.

"Fine," Amy said, actually feeling too tired to do much after a physically and emotionally exhausting week, but she could go out for a few drinks. The semester was over after all. "But can we stop by my place first? I can't really go out wearing this."

"No need," Bernadette smirked. "Howie just dropped this off; I had him pick it up at the mall."

She handed Amy a shopping bag. Amy opened it, and peaked inside. Light blue. She hardly ever wore light blue.

"What's this?" she asked.

"That is the dress you'll be wearing tonight," Bernadette said gleefully. "Sheldon's gonna love it."

Amy's heart jumped. _Would they be seeing Sheldon tonight? _She wasn't prepared for that.

"W-what?"

"You see," Bernadette said, throwing her a wink. "It's the almost the same dress as the one you wore to the funeral, in what I can only guess is Sheldon's favourite colour."

"The colour of his _own_ eyes?" Amy deadpanned, unamused by this turn of events.

Bernadette shook her head and giggled.

"No, silly! The colour of Spock's uniform."

* * *

Amy felt awkward as she walked into the restaurant. The dress was as tight, if not tighter, as the black one, and this colour made people's heads turn. She was filled with nerves. Bernadette hadn't wanted to say any more to her about what she had planned for the evening.

Amy looked around the restaurant anxiously, trying to spot the foursome of men seated at a table. She saw none of them. Maybe they would come in later?

"Reservation for Rostenkowski," Bernadette squeaked to the maître d'.

"Ah, yes," the man responded, looking through a list, "I see the rest of your party has already arrived. Follow me, please."

Amy's heart beat rapidly in her throat, and she hoped the fabric of the dress wouldn't show the nervous sweat that was gathering on the back of her neck. They followed the maître d' through the small, quaint tables to the back of the restaurant. If Amy hadn't been this nervous, she might have been able to enjoy the nice ambiance of the restaurant Bernadette had picked out.

The maître d' indicated to a table where Penny sat, wearing a lilac dress and looking fabulous as ever. Although, she always looked like a goddess according to Amy. Penny waved at them enthusiastically. Amy's shoulders sagged in relief when she saw that the table was only set for three people.

Penny got up from the table to hug the both of them.

"Oh my God, Amy! You look amazing!" she exclaimed. She gave Amy an appreciative once-over, and Amy couldn't help but blush from her compliments.

"So do you," she said, indicating to Penny's outfit.

"This old thing," Penny dismissed her nice words with the wave of her hand. "I'm just so excited to eat together, just the three of us. And this place is so nice! Leonard took me here for Valentine's Day once, but at least now I'll be able to order the cheese platter-for-two without having to live in fear of Leonard's lactose intolerant body ruining the rest of the night!"

Amy and Bernadette laughed. Amy felt herself relax a little as the evening wore on. It was nice, spending time with them like this. They ate lovely French dishes with accompanying wine – Bernadette stopped Amy from ordering a third glass though – and laughed and talked about nothing in particular. But never about Sheldon or any of the other men.

Amy had almost forgotten about everything that had happened that week, feeling more at ease than she had in weeks. She was scraping the dish that had contained her crème brulée clean with her spoon, when Bernadette spoke up.

"We should be going," she said, typing rapidly on her phone. "Howie says the party is a bust and he can't really keep the guys there much longer. He's convinced them to stay until Siebert speeches at least."

"Alrighty," Penny said, standing up while looking at her phone. "There's an Uber not too far from here, I'll book him."

Within minutes, Amy and Penny stood outside the restaurant, watching the street for a white Toyota Prius. Bernadette was settling the bill inside.

"You look great, Ames," Penny said again.

"Thanks," she muttered, and then, unable to stop herself blurted out. "So, uhm.. how's Sheldon been?"

"He's been more cranky than usual," Penny said. "Focussed on his work mostly, according to Leonard. He's been ignoring me. And when he wasn't ignoring me, he has been giving me the cold shoulder. It was to be expected."

Amy didn't really know how to respond to this. He was mad at Penny for talking to her about his ex. Should Amy apologize to Penny for blabbing to Sheldon? Her earlier anxiety was returning. She was glad to see a car pull up to the curb. Bernadette joined them seconds later.

"East California Blvd, right?" the Uber driver asked Penny as she climbed in the shot gun seat.

"Are we going to Caltech?" Amy asked, confirming what she already suspected.

"Yes," Bernadette nodded. "The physics department is having their Christmas mixer. We thought we'd surprise the guys with our presence."

"Howard isn't a physicist," Amy said, confused. Her stomach felt queasy with nerves already.

"Like they check that at the door!" Penny exclaimed. "Last year, they let anyone in there. From what I've heard, they are so desperate for the faculty members to attend to fill up the room, that they don't mind a few strays. And if they stop us at the door, we'll just grab our men and leave."

_Their men_. Penny made it seem as if Sheldon was _hers_. He wasn't though. And she had screwed up so badly, he probably would never be hers anyway.

* * *

Penny had been right. The party seemed to be accessible to practically anyone. Amy felt a lump in her throat when she entered and looked around. She spotted Sheldon easily. He stood tall next to the other three men, looking bored and not at all at ease.

"Come on," Penny said, taking Amy's hand and pulling her towards the men.

Amy awkwardly tried to keep up with Penny's rather quick strides. But they weren't moving to the men at all, Penny made a rather sharp turn to the bar. Amy felt more than one pair of eyes in her back.

"We're going to let them come to us," Penny whispered conspiratorially, throwing her another wink.

Amy grimaced. Even now, she was still playing games of sorts with him. It didn't really seem fair to him. Especially after he had made it so clear that he was not amused by the half-truths Penny and Bernadette had told her. He had been ignoring both of them for the whole week, and now they stuck together at a party thrown by _his _department. It seemed unnecessary hurtful.

"Penny, I'd rather go say hello to him first," Amy rebutted. Penny shrugged and handed her a glass of some sort of party punch.

"Why, if it isn't Miss Fowler and the future Mrs. Hofstadter," the lisping voice of Barry Kripke interrupted them.

Amy felt uncomfortable under his leering gaze. She didn't have to feel like that for long though, because Penny appeared unamused by his comment.

"_What_? Future Mrs. Hofstadter? What the hell is Leonard telling people around here?" she replied angrily.

Kripke seemed taken aback by her response, and Amy saw her chance; she quickly slunk away from them. She could faintly hear Kripke sputter something about Leonard proposing during sex, and everyone laughing about it in the break room. Amy raised her eyebrows, and made a mental note to ask about this particular titbit later.

She walked up to the four men and Bernadette with a new sense of determination. If she wanted to fix whatever this was between herself and Doct - -_Sheldon_, she'd have to do it now.

It could go two ways, she reasoned. Either he'd be thrilled to see her, and he'd proceed to confess his love for her, while dragging her home to have his way with her. Or… or he'd reject her and she'd be leaving the party broken-hearted, but at least she'd be dressed to the nines.

Both options frightened her beyond belief.

"Hey Amy," Leonard greeted her first. He grinned at her. Bernadette and Howard were pretty busy gazing in each other's eyes and just threw her quick smiles. Rajesh Koothrappali gave her a nod and held up his lime-green cocktail in a toast.

"Good evening, Amy," he said.

Sheldon only stared at her. He looked stoic as ever, clad in suit, with his hands behind his back.

"Hello," Amy murmured. Her heart fluttered in her chest. His blue eyes seemed to be burning through her again.

"Miss Fowler," he said tonelessly. "I see the door policy is extremely lacking tonight."

Amy tried not to look too affected by this sneer. "What do you mean? I thought this was the physics Christmas mixer… I took a class in physics this semester, you know."

Sheldon scoffed.

"Hey, ehm… I see Penny waving me over, I'm going to go say hi," Leonard muttered awkwardly, and quickly powerwalked past them.

"I'll come with you!" Koothrappali added readily, and he followed him to the other end of the room. Amy averted her gaze from Sheldon to watch them go, and noticed that Howard and Bernadette had also moved away without her noticing, they were seated at a table to whisper quietly to each other.

Neither she nor Sheldon commented on the lame excuses their friends gave to leave them alone.

"If you've come here to ask me to change your grade _again_, I'll have to disappoint you, Miss Fowler. The marks are already finalised and submitted to the dean's office," he said after a few uncomfortable seconds, staring in the distance as he spoke.

"I didn't come here to ask you to change my grade," Amy said, mustering up all her courage.

Sheldon moved his gaze from the far end of the room to her face.

"Why did you here come then, Miss Fowler?" he asked, his voice void of emotion.

Amy took a deep breath and tried not to stutter as she said her next words.

"I came here to ask you out, actually," she said softly. "If you'll still have me."

_To be continued_

**A/N Sorry to keep you waiting after last chapter's bombshell (or bombSheldon, ha ha). **

**Stay safe and stay sane. I hope you and your loved ones are doing well. **

**Let me know your thoughts. **


	33. Anticipations

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 32**

**Anticipations**

_"I came here to ask you out, actually," she said softly. "If you'll still have me." _

She had to be blushing. Sheldon stared at her. Amy willed herself to hold his gaze.

"Is that so?" he said tonelessly.

Amy swallowed away the sudden lump in her throat. He was making her work for it. _Fair_ _enough_. He had every right to be pissed at her right now, after the assumptions she had made about his intentions.

"Yes," she answered.

His jaw ticked and his eyes moved over her face rapidly, as if he was trying to read her.

"Why?" he asked. And Amy furrowed her brow in confusion. What did he mean 'why'? Wasn't it clear? But then Amy remembered the question Bernadette had asked her a couple of days ago; '_How do you feel about Sheldon?'_

Maybe it wasn't all that clear to him either.

"Because, I…" she started, feeling uneasy with the way he was staring her down. The setting of this physics' party wasn't helping matters at all. They were surrounded by people. All their friends among them.

He raised his eyebrows, signalling her to continue. "Yes?"

Amy huffed out in frustration. She bit her lip and looked at him pleadingly.

"Could we not do this here?" she asked softly. He had to see how uncomfortable she felt right now. His eyes pierced her again. He sighed deeply.

"Fine," he mumbled.

Amy's heart was still beating way too hard in her chest, but she felt relieved that he was at least willing to talk to her; someplace private that is.

"Uhm…" Amy said, _this was all so incredibly awkward. _"Maybe we could go to your office or something?"

"I've locked my office for the Christmas break, Miss Fowler," he supplied, "moreover, the alarms are on this time of night."

He was still calling her 'Miss Fowler'. She bit her lip again. Would it be too forward to ask him to come to her house? Or his? It would, probably. She was wracking her brain for a possible location they could be having this conversation. It wasn't as if she knew any secret places here around campus.

Sheldon sighed again. "Come with me," he mumbled.

He walked ahead of her towards the hallway through which they had entered. Amy followed him quickly. He had such long legs, it was hard to keep up with him.

He had his phone in his hand, and seemed to be typing quickly. He stopped by the coatroom. He looked up at her. Amy didn't know what he was waiting for. Was she supposed to go in there? It didn't actually seem like a really private place to talk.

"Didn't you bring a coat?" he asked after what seemed like a minute of uncomfortable silence.

"Oh! Ehm, yes," Amy replied hastily making her way into the coatroom. _Where they going somewhere? _Maybe it wouldn't have been that presumptuous to suggest going to her place after all. She took a deep breath, trying to calm the nerves that had suddenly emerged when she realised she would be alone with him.

Amy pulled on her coat with trembling hands.

Sheldon looked up from his phone as she walked back out in the hallway. He turned around and held open the door for her. Amy bowed her head slightly as she walked ahead of him. It was quiet around campus. Amy had hardly spent any time outside at night – all the nights she had worked late, she had always left quickly, wanting to be home as soon as possible.

The campus looked nice now. It exuded a sort of calm, without all the students bustling around. She could hear the traffic faintly in the distance. The noise from the party going on inside was muted here.

Sheldon walked ahead of her again. She jogged up to him, walking beside him in silence. He was leading her some place, but none of the other buildings looked like they were open this time of night. The lanterns cast a glow around them. Sheldon turned at a corner, and they found themselves in a semi-secluded place.

A solitary bench faced a drained fountain. Bushes and trees surrounded it. It looked like a private garden of sorts.

Sheldon walked ahead of her again and sat down on the far right of the bench. Amy followed suit and sat next to him.

She fiddled her fingers. How was she supposed to start this conversation?

"Whenever I feel too overwhelmed with my workload, I go to this bench to get my head in order," Sheldon said, looking straight ahead.

"It's nice here," Amy mumbled.

"Yes," Sheldon agreed. "And I'd like to keep it that way."

He was subtly saying that she'd better not ruin his secret happy place. Amy was slowly learning to interpret his way of speaking; reading between the lines. In hindsight all his earlier behaviour made so much sense, now that she knew what to look for. She wasn't making that mistake again.

She scooted closer to him.

"Sheldon," she muttered, when she came to a halt next to him. Their legs were almost touching.

He turned his head to hers. Amy inhaled sharply when she saw the vulnerability in his eyes.

"What do you want from me, Amy?" he asked. "I've been honest with you about my intentions more than once, and you've left me in the dark for weeks. Frankly, I'm done waiting."

Amy licked her lips. She swallowed nervously.

"I-I thought we could start with a date maybe? Now that you're not my teacher anymore?" she asked quietly.

Sheldon looked at her for a long time. She looked away from his prying eyes, and sighed softly in defeat. Amy was about to get up and leave; he had obviously changed his mind, and wasn't interested in her anymore.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" he asked right before she got up from the bench.

"N-nothing?" Amy stammered, swivelling back to face him, and willing her heart to calm down at the same time.

Sheldon bent forward and pressed his lips to hers. Amy's stomach constricted with nerves immediately. He pulled back from her before she had a chance to kiss him back.

"I'll pick you up at 7," he said, looking at her imploringly.

Amy's heart nearly burst out of her chest. "That'd be nice," she said breathlessly.

"Good," Sheldon replied, his voice low.

Amy's heart palpitated and she trembled under his gaze.

"Yes," she said quietly.

She didn't know what to do now. She really wanted to kiss him again. The air around them was charged with a sudden energy. Sheldon kept staring at her, his pupils blown wide. The earlier vulnerability in this eyes was replaced with the heated look he had given her many times before. Her body responded accordingly.

Her breathing quickened, as did her heartrate. Her tongue darted out to moisten her dry lips.

Sheldon's pupils dilated. He reached out, and his hand cupped her face.

"What did I tell you about licking your lips, Amy?" he mumbled. His fingers were touching her so softly, it was even more stimulating. Titillating. She recalled his words the last time she had licked her lips in his presence. It wasn't that far from here, the library.

"It makes you want to do unspeakable things to me?" she replied, hoping her voice came of as seductive.

"Exactly," he rasped.

She closed the distance between them; their lips met with surprising tenderness. Tingles moved through Amy immediately. She exhaled a breathy moan, and he deepened the kiss. Amy slowly moved her lips over his, opening her mouth in the process. Their tongues brushed against each other, in a slow and tantalizing rhythm.

They had kissed more times than she could count, but never like this.

In the past their kisses always had a certain urgency to them. They were always filled with heat and pent-up frustration.

How different it was to kiss him now. Now that they knew what they both wanted from the other. There was no need to rush to a certain climax or a need to make a rhetorical point about who was provoking who this time. There was just this. Them. A savouring of finally, _finally _having this moment of certainty between them.

It was just the two of them and the desire to kiss now. And how. Smouldering and breath-taking at the same time. Amy's entire body felt high strung, but not the kind of sexual tension she was used to feeling with him. Instead, it was as if her entire life she had been waiting for a moment like this. Where she felt a strange combination of being desired, being cherished and being loved all at once.

They kissed a kiss full of promises for what was to come. It made her whole body tremble and caused a fire of even bigger proportions to burn within her.

Sheldon pulled away from her, breathing deeply.

Amy's hands had made their way to the lapels of his jacket without her even realizing it. She panted softly and loosened her tight grip on him.

Sheldon cleared his throat softly. "Can I take you home?" he asked.

Amy blinked up at him. She took a shuddering breath. She felt overwhelmed with emotion all of a sudden. She had known for some time that she was a little more than just 'into him', but the feelings that washed over her just now where something entirely different. Overwhelming.

She could only nod at him in response. Somehow, she wasn't able to utter a single vowel.

Sheldon pulled her up by her hand and didn't let go as they walked around campus. He pulled out his phone with his other hand, and pressed the call button. He held up one of his fingers to Amy, signalling her he would just be a second.

"Yes, Amir," he said. "We're on our way right now. Thank you for waiting again."

Amy blinked at him. She wondered who he had been speaking to, but her thoughts drifted back to her sudden epiphany on that park bench. She was head of heels in love with him. Her heart beat rapidly still, and she hoped her palms weren't as sweaty as she felt all over; Sheldon was still holding her hand.

They had reached a parking lot now, and a car seemed to be waiting on them with the headlights on. Sheldon walked over to the door behind the shotgun seat, and opened it for Amy. She climbed in, and had half expected Sheldon to follow her like he had done a couple times before. Instead, he closed the door, and a couple of seconds later appeared at the other side of the backseat.

"Good evening, Amir," Sheldon said to the driver, who Amy now recognized as the driver who drove them that night when Sheldon had picked her up at the Cheesecake factory.

"Doctor Cooper," he greeted him back, "and your lady as well. Good evening, Miss."

Amy blushed. _His lady_. She liked the sound of that.

"Good evening," she said demurely. Sheldon looked at her sideways. Was he wondering why she didn't correct him?

"North Los Robles Ave., I presume?" Amir asked.

"We'll make another stop first, Amir. You have her address already," Sheldon replied. "I'll have to ask you to wait some more when I see her home. I'm sure that won't be a problem?"

Amy let out a shuddering breath. She didn't know if she felt relieved or disappointed that he was only bringing home, without any funny business. She supposed it was better if he went home instead of staying with her. Especially after tonight, with the overwhelming feelings inside her and the silent promises between them.

She looked at him when she felt him grasp her hand.

"Tomorrow," he said, squeezing her hand in promise.

Amy smiled at him. "Tomorrow," she repeated.

They drove in silence, but the ride was fairly short from campus to Amy's modest studio. Sheldon let go of her hand when they reached her building. Amy unbuckled her seatbelt and bid Amir good night. He gave her a nod and a wink. What a different vibe there must have been between them this time than the last time he had driven them.

Amy walked up to her door while Sheldon exchanged some more words with Amir. _Was he sending him away after all? _Her heart raced with sudden nerves. Her apartment was a mess as well. She had left that morning planning to spend her last day of the semester in the lab, without ever considering the possibility that she would be bringing Sheldon home.

Sheldon walked up as Amir drove away. Amy's eyes widened.

"He's just parking around the corner," Sheldon said as he caught her shocked expression.

"O-Oh," Amy breathed out. She was so nervous all of a sudden.

Sheldon raised an eyebrow at her. Amy looked back at him. He looked incredible in his suit. Her mouth watered at the sight.

"The door, Amy," Sheldon said softly. Amy blushed and turned around, her hands shook as she tried to insert the key in the lock. Sheldon had the grace not to comment on her sudden clumsy behaviour.

She managed to get the door open, and walked ahead of him towards the elevator. She pressed the button and waited anxiously. What was she supposed to do? Invite him in for tea? _Not _invite him in for tea?

She was brought back to the first time he had seen her to her door. The nervousness she had felt back then were nothing compared to how she felt right now. The elevator _dinged_ and they both entered. Amy pressed the button to her floor.

Sheldon grasped her hand from mid-air and turned her around. His eyes burned through her. He brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed his lips against her knuckles.

"I haven't even told you yet how beautiful you look tonight," he said quietly.

Amy felt that warmth beneath her chest again. "You think so?" she mumbled.

"Yes," he confirmed. "You're wearing Federation blue, Amy. We've never discussed Star Trek. Who set you up to this?"

"Bernadette thought you might appreciate this particular colour," Amy murmured. "I thought the tight-fit would be what you liked most."

She smiled at him devilishly. His lips curled into a smirk.

"The way it seems painted on your body certainly is a bonus," he said lowly, "But I already know what's underneath. And if you think for one second that I don't remember what every inch of your body looks like, I might need to teach you some more lessons about my eidetic memory."

The elevator came to a halt on her floor. That was probably a good thing, because she had come incredibly close to jumping him just now.

The tension between them had returned full-blast.

Amy walked to her front door, and she could feel Sheldon's eyes on her behind. She inserted the key in the door, and turned around to gage his reaction. Maybe he would invite himself in again, that wouldn't be the first time.

He was ahead of her, though.

"I'm not coming in, Amy," he said.

"I didn't ask you to," she rebutted, feeling slightly let down.

"You didn't need to, darlin'," he chuckled, "I can see it in your eyes. And if you were any random girl I would have followed you in a heartbeat. You have no idea how hard it is for me _not_ to follow you right now…"

Amy swallowed thickly. She understood. Tonight was too loaded with everything that had still hung in the air between them. It also felt like he wanted to wait for her.

She felt that unfamiliar sensation again. _Cherished. _

"It's okay," she said breathlessly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

His eyes twinkled. "Yes," he said. "Tomorrow."

He bent down and Amy took a shuddering breath in anticipation. Their lips met briefly. It was enough to make her blush. Their foreheads touched. Amy had her eyes closed and tried to calm her racing heart.

Sheldon kissed her one last time.

"Sweet dreams, Amy," he whispered. "You'll need all the sleep you can get tonight. You won't be getting much tomorrow, if it's up to me."

_To be continued_

**A/N Thank you thank you thank you for all your incredible reviews and your patience for this story. **

**I've been busy working on the companion piece for this story. It follows Work-Life Balance by the chapter, but then from Sheldon's point of view! It really explains a lot of his earlier behaviour, and also has new parts that aren't in this story. **

**Check it out, if you're not already reading it: The Professor Insights. **

**As always; let me know your thoughts and stay safe! **


	34. Conjugations pt I

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 33**

**C****onjugations**

**Part I**

Amy didn't know how long she had been sitting on the couch in a daze, when she was roused out of her stupor by the insistent buzzing of her phone. She looked at her screen. The group chat with the girls was filling her phone with notifications.

_Penny  
So…. u 2 just sneaked off? Hehe_

_Bernadette  
I told you the dress would work. We want details tomorrow Ames!_

_Penny  
YAAAASSS I WANNA KNOW EVERYTHING_

_Bernadette  
OMG me tooo_

Amy chuckled. They were obviously a little drunk at the moment, but their blatant enthusiasm made her grin. She stared off in the distance again. What an evening she'd had. She had hoped that Sheldon would forgive her for the hurtful things she'd said – she still hadn't really apologized – but she had never expected she'd be leaving the party feeling like _this_.

Just the thought of his blue eyes staring into hers made her insides tingle and caused her heartrate to quicken.

She grabbed her phone and sent them a quick text.

_Amy  
He just brought me home. But we're going on a date tomorrow…. AAH! I have nothing to wear. You guys available for shopping tomorrow?_

* * *

Penny had decided that Amy not only needed a new dress, but some other _preparations _for her date as well. The pain between her legs was short-lived thankfully, but Amy couldn't help but feel extremely self-conscious as a middle-aged woman with a no-nonsense mentally had applied the wax to her nether regions and mercilessly ripped it off. She had never had a non-medical professional (besides Sheldon) touch her there. But the woman seemed almost bored as Amy bared herself for her. It made her feel a little more at ease.

They walked from the salon towards the parking lot, a paper bag in her hand containing a dress with a flowery pattern on it. It had no cleavage and reached her knees. The girls thought it was too conservative, but Amy felt much more comfortable in it than in the blue dress from the night before.

"OH! Do you need anything to wear _under _that dress as well?" Bernadette piped up as they walked past a lingerie store. It was as if they were shopping for her wedding night.

"No, that's okay," Amy mumbled, feeling awkward.

"Oooh," crooned Penny, "You already have some sexy lingerie picked out for tonight then?"

_As a matter of fact, she had. _

* * *

Amy was nervous. It was five minutes to seven. Another 300 seconds until Sheldon would be there to pick her up.

Her heart was beating rapidly already. She assessed her current feelings. Nervous. Excited. Anxious. The last one about summed it up. She wondered how she was to go about apologizing to him for the horrible assumptions she had made.

256 seconds.

The lace of the Batman panties felt foreign against her backside. She had brushed her hair a hundred strokes, and it shone like it never did. There was a sudden blemish on her glasses, and it irked her immensely.

172 seconds.

She had made it to her bathroom, and was searching a microfiber cloth to clean the lenses of her glasses. While she rubbed the lenses clean, she was startled by the knock at the door.

He was early.

"I-It's open!" she called out, hastily putting the glasses back on and running one final hand down her hair. She exhaled shakily and turned around, ready to face him.

Sheldon stood in the middle of her living room. He wore a blazer over a dress-shirt. He wasn't dressed as formally as he did when he taught class, but it was still a lot nicer than his usual out-of-office wear of comic book t-shirts. Amy couldn't help but smile at the thought that _she_ was the one wearing something comic book themed this time.

"Hi," she said breathlessly. His gaze was roving over her, and she felt herself blushing immediately.

"Good evening," he replied.

It was awkward now, with at least 10 feet between them. Should she walk up to him to kiss him in greeting? Or should she wait for him to approach her? This entire evening would be a disaster if neither one of them would step up.

"I would have brought you flowers, but I realised I don't even know whether you _like _flowers, let alone your favourite kind," he blurted, "so I'll get you a big bouquet to compensate the next time, once you tell me what kind of flowers to get."

_Next time. _That seemed hopeful. Didn't it?

"Anything but chrysanthemums," she replied, smiling.

"I'll remember that," he said. He had a sort of cheeky smile, as if he was already planning the next time they'd go out. Amy couldn't but smile back.

"Uhm… the Uber's downstairs," Sheldon said, mentioning to the door with his hand.

"Oh! Yes," Amy said, and she gathered her purse and coat. Together they stood in the elevator, looking at each other as they moved down.

Suddenly, Amy felt overcome with guilt.

Here he was; taking her out on a date, a _real_ date, after she had accused him of practically screwing around with his students. Students, plural. And she had basically offered to be one of those hypothetical notches on his bed post as well. _What must he think of her now? _

It couldn't be that bad, she figured. He was here, wasn't he?

Before she could open her mouth to mention it, the doors of the elevator had opened and they exited her building. Amy recognized the car waiting for them, and she smiled in greeting at Amir. Sheldon opened the door for her and she climbed in. Sheldon walked around the car and got in next to her.

"Hello Amir," Amy mumbled, and he grinned widely at her.

"Miss," he stated, bowing his head. "The next stop then, Doctor Cooper?"

Sheldon nodded. "Yes, please," he said, buckling up. They drove off, and Amy waited for him to reach for her hand. He didn't. Amy swallowed nervously and even laid it down on the seat between them, to make it easier accessible for him. He didn't take it. She felt her heart wretch.

"Sheldon," Amy started softly, needing to get this over with before the anxiety ruined the entire evening. He turned to look at her.

"I-I want to apologize for the horrible things I said. It's no excuse, but I thought your intentions with me were, well… not that honourable. I realise now that I misinterpreted a lot of things you did. And I'm sorry."

She exhaled shakily, and looked back up at him when she finished talking. He looked at her intently.

"Thank you. I understand now how certain actions may have come across. I guess I should be the one apologizing to you for being unclear in my intentions," he said, his voice low.

A weight lifted off her chest. Sheldon reached out and grasped her hand now. One of his fingers was on her pulse point; cataloguing her physiological responses.

"I do hope there's no doubt about my intentions now," he said darkly, raising an eyebrow in suggestion. Amy took a shuddering breath. Her stomach constricted deliciously at the promise.

Because there was no doubt what he intended with her tonight, no.

* * *

The restaurant was nice. The waiter seated them in a corner that was dimly lit; not too dark so they wouldn't be able to see each other, but dark enough to underscore the romantic feel of the place.

"This place is nice, do you come here often?" Amy asked, after they had both taken their seats.

Sheldon shook out the cloth napkin and placed it in his lap. Amy couldn't help but admire his etiquette. He had waited to take his seat after he had helped her scoot hers closer to the table. It was extremely old-fashioned, but it made her feel appreciated on a different level.

"I don't," Sheldon admitted, and there was a slight blush on his cheeks. "I don't go on dates. I asked Koothrappali for a nice restaurant to take you."

"I thought Rajesh hadn't had intercourse in months?" Amy asked, grinning slightly. She recalled the time he had said that to her in his office. She had been shocked to hear him say the word _intercourse_. Look at her now, she mused, repeating the same thing back to him without as much as a blush on her face.

"He hasn't," Sheldon replied, chuckling at her question. "At least not to my knowledge. But what he lacks in successful dates, he more than makes up for in his taste in fine restaurants."

"It makes you wonder how bad he is at dating then, if these are the places he takes his dates to," Amy said.

Sheldon chuckled.

"I'm glad you like it," Sheldon said, after a small pause.

The waiter came by and took their drink order – red wine for Amy, iced tea for Sheldon – and left them to peruse the menu. Amy loved the classic French cuisine, and this restaurant served all the things she liked. If the date turned out to be a disaster after all, at least she would have had a nice meal.

Their drinks were served and Sheldon held his drink up in a silent toast. It wasn't necessary to say what he was toasting to.

Amy blushed and tried to smile sweetly at him, clinking their glasses together.

The air between them was different now. Much less tense than any other time they had been alone together. After she had apologized – and he had taken some of the blame as well – the guilt and nervousness inside her had disappeared. Now all that was left was an anticipation for what was to come, that made her kind of jittery and aroused at the same time.

"I must say, your etiquette is impeccable, Doctor Cooper," Amy said, using his title playfully now.

"I should hope so," Sheldon deadpanned. "It's one of the 'benefits' of growing up in East-Texas. The cotillion training all pre-adolescents are forced to go through prepares us greatly for formal dinners and ballroom dances."

"Really?" Amy said, slightly surprised. "You can dance?"

"I'm an excellent dancer," he said. Amy couldn't help but picture them on a dance floor; one of his hands on the small of her back, hers on his shoulder, while he held the other firmly at shoulder-height. Maybe they'd be standing a little closer than they had taught him. She didn't really dare to think about the colour of the dress she wore in this fantasy.

"I'll believe that when I see it," Amy teased him.

"How about I let you experience it yourself sometime?" he asked. Amy blushed.

"I'd like that," Amy murmured. Sheldon held her gaze. Was he imagining the both of them on a dance floor as well? She'd like to think so.

"What was it like, growing up in East-Texas?" she asked, when she couldn't handle the look in his eyes anymore.

"It was hell," he said bluntly. "My mother is deeply religious, and she never really understood my intelligence. That combined with my alcoholic father, a bullying twin sister and an idiot for a brother didn't exactly make my childhood fun."

Amy took a sip of her wine. She didn't really know how to respond to this.

"My Pop-Pop and Meemaw always encouraged me to pursue the sciences, and after graduating high school I was able to go here to continue studying," he went on, "I still go to Texas every Christmas, though."

"You've mentioned your grandmother before," Amy said.

"You'd like her," Sheldon smiled. "She can be pretty audacious. She's pretty spry for her age still. Hold on." He proceeded to pull out his wallet. Amy's eyes zeroed in on it with great interest.

Sheldon handed her a black and white picture of a woman with hair worthy of Dolly Parton, and a boy with dark hair and light eyes, obviously taken in a photo booth.

"Is this you?"

"Yes," Sheldon stammered. "Obviously she doesn't look like that anymore, but this was taken when I was about to start high school and she wanted to get a picture with me in case I'd forget about her. As if I ever could, with my eidetic memory. I've kept in on my person ever since."

Amy's heart melted. She looked up at him and couldn't keep the smile off her face. Sheldon looked sort of awkward, but it only made Amy love him more.

Sheldon was saved from further embarrassment by the arrival of their entrees. Amy tried to catch a glimpse of the other contents of his wallet; would there be condoms in there? She had bought condoms herself that afternoon, and she wondered if she had been too forward in buying them.

But Sheldon kept looking at her with that heated look he had had during a lot of their encounters. Maybe she hadn't been too forward at all.

"There's really no need to elaborate further about my academic career," Sheldon said, giving her a knowing look. "You researched me pretty thoroughly after only the _first class _I taught you."

He was grinning at her.

Amy kept her face deliberately impassive and took the last bite of her Quiche Lorraine. He was calling her out. She had been interested in him since the second she saw him. He had known all that time… She flashed back to their first one-on-one meeting in his classroom. At the time she had thought he wasn't onto her, but it seemed like he was.

"I told you that was to keep up my physics knowledge… I am a biology student after all," she said, blinking innocently at him. She took a sip of her wine and licked the corner of her mouth on purpose.

Sheldon's eyes darkened.

"I didn't believe you then and I don't believe you now, Amy," he said in a low voice. "And keep your tongue inside your mouth _please_, before I pull you into the bathroom here and proceed to ravish you."

Amy gulped.

Someone by cleared his throat awkwardly to Amy's left. She startled. Their waiter. He looked somewhat uncomfortable.

"Ahem, are you both finished with your entrees?"

Amy blushed and looked down as he cleared their almost empty plates. Sheldon signalled to the waiter that they would like another round of drinks, with an additional glass of water for Amy to go with her wine.

"So, I guess I won't be ravishing you in the bathrooms here," Sheldon said, as if he was talking about the weather. All Amy could think was; would he be ravishing her somewhere else?

"Your _research _paid off, though. You did pretty well on your physics papers," he continued. "For a _biology_ student. Although, admittedly I may have favoured you to the other students in terms of tutoring…"

Amy smiled what she hoped was a mischievous smile at him. She cut into the piece of meat on her plate – red meat was a luxury she hardly ever indulged in, and it was heavenly combined with the béarnaise sauce. She moaned around the first bite she took.

Sheldon stared at her.

"This is so good," she said, pointing at her steak. Sheldon's pupils had dilated. _Oh. _Amy felt a blush heat her cheeks.

Sheldon coughed awkwardly and shifted in his seat.

"I've always wondered what drove you to choose biology as a main field of study?" Sheldon asked, and he continued to eat now as well.

"Well, I guess my interest in biology started when I was around 7," Amy said, thinking back now.

"Hm?" Sheldon signalled her to continue.

"Like many girls that age, I wanted to join the Girl Scouts," Amy explained, "my mother wouldn't let me – you've met her, you understand. She didn't want me selling cookies on some street corner like a whore."

Sheldon choked on his food. He coughed awkwardly.

"I fail to see what that has to do with biology?" he questioned, his eyes still watery from the coughing fit.

"I took out a book on biology from the library, to see what whores did," Amy said simply. "I've been hooked ever since."

She gave him a wicked smile and took another careful sip of her wine – she shouldn't be getting to inebriated tonight. Not with Sheldon's _intentions. _

"Don't tell me you're only out with me tonight to get the loss of your virginity over with? The fines for solicitation are pretty high in California, Miss Fowler," he said mock-serious, "I'm afraid I can't be an accomplice to this plan of yours."

"That's a shame," Amy said quietly, giving him a seductive look. "I was hoping you would."

Sheldon gave her an imploring look.

"Maybe I will anyway," he said, his voice dropping an octave.

Amy could feel the arousal course through her entire body, ending in a heated pool between her legs. She felt flushed and had the cold sweats at the same time.

He stared at her for a moment longer.

"How you managed to stay out of the clutches of all those men at Harvard is beyond me, Amy," he said quietly. Amy's heart beat faster. She shrugged uncomfortably.

"I guess I just never found someone I wanted to do _that _with," she mumbled while she averted her eyes, feeling ashamed for still being a virgin. The sorority girls at Harvard had laughed in her face when she tried to pledge there and they found out during a game of truth or dare. Her old insecurities came back immediately.

"Hey," Sheldon said, making her look up, "There's no need to be embarrassed. In fact, I envy you. I wish I could go back in time and _not _sleep with some of the women I slept with."

Amy wondered if he was going to talk about that colleague again. She didn't really want to hear more about that. After he had told her about the way she had threatened him, Amy had come to the realisation that maybe she should let the past rest.

Sheldon seemed to regret it now anyway.

"And I don't want to presume anything, but I think the first man you give yourself to is a very lucky man indeed."

Amy's breath caught in her throat. His blue eyes were piercing her once again. She looked down at her plate after the silence between them became too much for her.

"So, uhm," she muttered, "you have lots of regrets then?"

"I've been informed one shouldn't speak of one's exes on a first date," Sheldon said, raising an eyebrow. "But I'm certainly not proud of everything I've done; the biggest regret you already know about."

Amy nodded, and helped herself to the final sip of her wine. That was all she needed to know about it, really. She'd talk to the girls one day about it, how their talks had completely messed with her head and her perception of him.

The waiter came by to clear their plates, and Sheldon ordered the _grand dessert _for them to share. Amy's mouth watered in anticipation already. If she hadn't made up her mind already that she wanted him, he was surely convincing her with chocolate mousse and lemon meringue pie.

"And I wouldn't say _a lot _of regrets," Sheldon stated after the waiter had left. "I don't know why, but you seemed to have the idea that I am some sort of ladies' man."

"What do you mean?" Amy asked, surprised by his tone of voice; he sounded displeased.

"Oh, I don't know. You seem really gullible. You were under the impressing that I had a thing with Bernadette for how long?" he was smirking now.

"Only like a week or so," Amy said defensively. "And it made total sense in my mind at the time. I'm not _that _gullible. And you're one to talk, mister!"

"Oh am I?" he said, amused by her candour.

"Yes," Amy said defiantly. "I can't believe you fell for that Catholic schoolgirl ploy. It was the most transparent way to get your attention and you completely fell for it."

Amy was having fun; this teasing between them felt totally natural for some reason, and it made her stomach flutter. Sheldon was smirking at her.

"Fuck Amy, you were so hot in that skirt," Sheldon whispered darkly.

Amy blushed. "I know," she said, winking at him.

"You're a vixen, Amy Farrah Fowler," Sheldon said, the awe in voice audible.

They talked about Amy's addiction study over their final course. Amy tried her hardest not to moan again as she ate some of the delicious desserts. Sheldon kept looking at her in a way that made her nervous for what was to come. Would they do something after this? She had no idea of the time, but hours had to have passed by now.

When there were just crumbs left on the plate, Amy sat back contently. She was having a really wonderful time with him. It was during their pretend fight over who should get the last bite of the crème brulée – Sheldon lectured her that the Thai reserved the last piece for the most valued member of the group, and gave up the fight after that – that Amy realised she didn't really want the evening to end.

It was incredible how easy the conversation between them flowed, now that the earlier misconceptions and unspoken feeling were out of the way.

Or maybe not all feelings. She still hadn't really responded to his declaration of love. Was he expecting her to?

The waiter brought the bill to Sheldon and she excused herself to go to the bathroom. After firing off a quick text in the group chat – _I'm having a wonderful time _– she looked at herself in the mirror. Would she be having sex tonight? It felt monumental for some reason. Sheldon had proven to be patient though, and if for some reason she didn't want to go through with it, he wouldn't push her.

But the heated looks he had given her all evening made her hot and bothered, though. And she felt ready. She had been for quite some time now.

She exhaled again slowly, and walked back over to the table. Sheldon was looking at his phone. He looked up when she returned.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

_Go where? _Amy wanted to ask, but she just nodded instead. Sheldon showed off even more of his etiquette as he helped her into her coat, before he held the door of the restaurant open for her to go first.

Amy turned halfway to ask him what the plans were, when he took hold of her arm and pulled her towards him in one smooth move. His lips descended on hers, and there was a suppressed intensity in his kiss. Amy inhaled sharply and pressed her lips back against his. Butterflies erupted in her stomach immediately.

Sheldon pulled back a little. "I've been wanting to kiss you all evening," he muttered.

Amy's hands had once again grasped onto the lapels of his jacket, and she pulled him back down towards her. Their mouths met halfway, slightly opened this time and they kissed heatedly. His lips still tasted faintly of the chocolate mousse, but underneath that was just his unique taste.

She was addicted to it.

His tongue slid against hers in that sensual manner that made her weak in the knees. She increased her hold on his jacket, afraid her legs would give out if they kept this up for too long. She couldn't wait any longer.

"Take me home," Amy whispered between kisses.

Sheldon groaned deeply. "Gladly," he replied. He kissed her one final time, and extracted himself from her hold.

"Amir should be around somewhere," he mumbled, looking out on the street for the now familiar silver car.

"It's a pretty big coincidence that you keep having the same Uber driver, isn't it?" Amy said, laughing.

"Don't be silly, Amy," Sheldon replied, pulling her towards him in a half-hug, "I booked him for the entire evening."

They walked to the curb where Amir just pulled up, Sheldon holding her close to him. They settled in on the back seat, and Sheldon took hold of her hand instantly this time.

"Where to, Doctor Cooper?" Amir asked, his eyes shining with mirth as he looked how closely they were sitting now. Sheldon gave him Amy's address and they took off.

They didn't speak during the ride, not with words anyway. The looks between them spoke volumes.

_To be continued_

**A/N Don't hate me; I had to cut the finale into two chapters. I'll upload the next instalment later this week, and that's a promise. **

**Your reviews are always appreciated.**


	35. Conjugations pt II

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Chapter 34**

**Conjugations**

**Part II**

"Would you be needing me again this evening, Doctor Cooper?" Amir asked, as he came to a halt by Amy's building.

Sheldon looked at Amy. The question in his eyes was evident; _it's up to you. _Amy's heart was already in her throat and her body felt tight with nerves, but good Lord did she want him.

"No, he won't," Amy answered, holding Sheldon's gaze as she answered.

Sheldon seemed to exhale slightly in relief. Had he been worried she would be showing him the door now? He cleared his throat.

"Yes, that will be all. Thank you, Amir," he said, looking as if he was trying to act professional towards Amir, but failing greatly.

"Have a good evening then," Amir replied, smiling at the both of them.

Amy nearly tripped over her own feet when she walked to her building. Her hands shook as she opened the front door. She could feel Sheldon's presence behind her. His body radiated heat.

This was it. Sheldon was coming into her studio with the assumption that they'd be engaging in sexual intercourse. Despite all the times they had almost done it – and she had begged him for it, delirious with want – she was incredibly tense at the moment. What if she didn't do it right? She could only guess both of them had expectations now.

Would she be able to live up to them?

Amy didn't know what came over her; outside of the restaurant she had been ready to jump him right there and then. But having him in her apartment again after dark with his obvious intentions, after all the heated looks they shared over dinner, after all the thinly veiled attempts at flirting from both their parts, it was pretty obvious where this was going.

She was scared out of her mind.

"Why are you shaking? Are you cold?" Sheldon asked when they entered the elevator.

Amy exhaled softly. "I'm just nervous," she said, looking at him hesitantly. "I think, maybe I built it up in my head too much…"

Sheldon put a hand on her arm, stopping her nervous rambling. Despite her coat, she could feel how warm his hand was.

"We don't have to do anything," he said. "We can just go to bed, and sleep. Or have a cup of tea and then I'll call Amir, and go to sleep in my own bed. Whatever you want."

The elevator _dinged_ open.

Amy looked at him. His eyes were so blue, and he looked at her with a certain openness and acceptance, that put her at ease. The look in his eyes was all she really needed it seemed.

"We can start with tea," Amy said. Sheldon smiled slightly.

"Alright."

Amy let them both in and deposited her coat and bag on chair at the table. Sheldon had walked to the kitchen and was already filling the kettle with water. Amy looked at him. _Really _looked at him. He moved with ease through her kitchen – it had to be the second, third, fourth time he was there? She didn't even remember now.

She recalled how it had felt when he had come over when Aunt Flora passed away. It had been so good to have him there. Not only because of the physical stuff (which was great, obviously), but for the support he had given her.

Was it in that moment that her attraction for him had started to morph into something bigger? She couldn't be sure. Maybe it had been at the funeral, when he had called out her mother without any reserve. Or later, when she had slept soundly in his arms after spending the entire afternoon practically in his arms, surrounded by his friends.

She was surprised it had taken her so long to realise the true depth of her feelings for him.

Her heart palpitated just from being near him. Even just watching him move around in her kitchen, collecting mugs and getting her tea collection – still without chamomile – left her a nervous wreck.

She walked over to him, determined now.

He had been obvious and honest about his intentions and desires for her. It was time she did the same for him.

"Your collection diminishes with every visit, now you don't even have Earl Grey anymore," Sheldon noted with slight disappointment, looking in the box of tea bags.

Amy turned him around with a hand on his arm. His eyes widened slightly in surprise by her close proximity, but he didn't resist when she stood on tip-toe to kiss his lips. The spark she had felt on that bench the day before was back. And how.

Sheldon dropped the box of tea, and pulled her in his arms. Amy lowered her heels to the ground and pulled Sheldon with her; their mouths meeting hotly, urgently. He wasted no time grasping her ass, and for some reason the familiarity of them making out like horny teenagers caused her earlier nervous state to lessen.

The nerves shifted into something akin to nervousness, but with eagerness and want as the primary ingredients: arousal.

She whimpered softly in Sheldon's mouth when she realised just how aroused his kisses made her. The Batman-panties felt uncomfortably damp already.

The electric kettle came to a boil, and the noise it made startled them both. They broke apart, panting deeply. Sheldon's eyes were more black than they were blue now, and Amy guessed she looked equally flushed and pent-up.

"Do you – do you still want tea?" Sheldon mumbled, but his grip on her bottom only increased.

Amy shook her head. "No," she croaked, swallowing thickly. She grasped his head and pulled him back to her. Their lips met again, less urgent but no less intense.

Sheldon moved from her mouth to her neck, littering kisses across her jaw as he went. Amy moaned quietly when he kissed her right underneath her ear. He was still wearing his jacket and it greatly obstructed Amy's wish to touch him. She pushed it off his shoulders, and Sheldon helped her take it off, his mouth never leaving her neck.

Amy suddenly flashed back to Bernadette pointing out a hickey he left in her neck that one time. And now that she figured out that was what he was doing, she noticed that he wasn't as much kissing her neck, but softly suckling her skin there.

"Sheldon," she mumbled, her senses were overloaded by him, his mouth on her neck, his hands on her bottom, pulling her against the hard bulge in his pants.

"Yes?"

"Are you giving me a hickey?" she asked, trying to sound appalled but it came out rather breathless. She never thought she'd see the day where she'd be getting a _hickey_.

He hummed affirmatively against her skin. His hands moved over her ass, his caresses stimulating her further. "I've got to stake my claim on you somehow, darlin'," he whispered darkly in her ear. He pressed a final kiss to her neck and kissed her mouth again.

"Nothing says '_this woman is taken' _like a hickey," he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively at her, "well, except maybe a ring on her finger, but let's not get ahead of ourselves now."

Amy's stomach bottomed out.

"Yeah," she mumbled quietly. _Holy shit. _That time he had claimed to have 'big plans' with her, he had meant business, hadn't he?

His mouth was on hers, and Amy lost herself in his kisses again. She wondered if they should be talking about this, what they were now. Boyfriend and girlfriend? Dating? A fling?

Sheldon seemed to be done talking however, one of his hands had left her behind and had enveloped her breast instead. Amy moaned in his mouth when he squeezed her nipple through the fabric of her dress and bra. If he kept this up, she would be throwing these panties out in the near future, the flimsy fabric had to be saturated by now.

She was slowly unbuttoning his dress shirt. She hadn't touched his naked chest that often, she realised. Except that time she had soaped him up in the shower. One of her hands wandered lower on its own accord when she remembered what else she had done there. Sheldon grunted in her mouth when she cupped him through his pants. He was rock-hard.

"Can I take you to bed?" Sheldon breathed, his voice desperate.

"Yes," Amy cut him off before he even finished speaking. His eyes darkened even further, if that was possible.

There was a moment between them now; in which neither of them moved from the kitchen or even seemed to blink. Amy breathed shallowly.

"We won't do anything you're not ready for, Amy," Sheldon said quietly.

Amy didn't think there was anything she wasn't ready for right now.

"I know," she replied, her tongue darted out over her lips. Sheldon groaned.

He took her hand and pulled her towards her bed, which she had made with extra care. The packet of newly bought condoms was in the drawer of her nightstand.

Sheldon came to a halt by her bed and leaned down towards her to kiss her lips again. Amy had half-expected him to throw her on it and proceed to ravish her, but this was actually quite nice. His hands moved over her arms – Amy couldn't recall when her cardigan had disappeared – in an agonizingly slow pace. Their lips brushed against each other and the electricity between them sparked once more.

Amy continued to open up his dress shirt, and she let her fingers move through the hairs on his chest. He was just so _manly._ It turned her on immensely, to have a man like him kiss her like this; touch her, but still physically restraining himself because he obviously wanted to do right by her.

If she wasn't incredibly horny right now, she'd be overwhelmed with emotions. But all that she could think of right now was how she couldn't wait to have him touch her naked skin.

It didn't take long before Sheldon was shirtless before her. Amy's hands roamed over his naked torso; over the plains of his chest, the patch of hair she couldn't stop running her fingers through. Sheldon made tiny pleasurable sounds with each brush of her hands.

His hands kept caressing her hips, her waist, her stomach. His fingers brushed across her breasts almost teasingly. Amy felt incredibly tense now. His touches drove her insane. It was both enough and not nearly enough at all.

She trembled when he finally touched her nipples again. The caress was way too fleeting to be really stimulating, and she groaned in frustration.

"Sheldon, please," she moaned.

"Are you going to beg me again?" he ground out, pulling her flush against him. He rubbed his erection against her stomach.

"If I have to; yes," Amy mumbled.

His hands took hold of her breasts for real now, and Amy gasped for breath immediately. She started to tug on the zipper of her dress, pulling it down with difficulty. It was entirely too hot in all these clothes.

"You're so impatient," Sheldon chuckled – but he was practically dry humping her stomach, so he really had no right to talk about patience.

Sheldon lowered the zipper the rest of the way, and lifted the dress from her body.

"_Fuck_," he cursed. His eyes darker than ever when he saw what she was wearing.

"Yes, Doctor Cooper?" Amy whispered, grinning at him. His nostrils flared as he assessed her.

"What, is something wrong?" Amy said in her best innocent-schoolgirl-voice, twirling a bit and showing him the lace backside of the panties.

He growled, and suddenly Amy was lifted in the air. She landed on her bed none too softly, but Sheldon didn't seem to care. He was on top of her in a second.

"You've been wearing this all night?" he stated more than asked, breathing in her neck harshly.

"_Yes,_" Amy moaned. He had settled between her legs already, and the hardness beneath his pants pushed up against her in a delicious way. Amy couldn't help but mewl as he thrusted against her.

"You'll be the death of me, Amy," Sheldon whispered against her ear.

He sat back on his haunches, and Amy blushed under his gaze. She had worn the only nice bra she had that was more sexy than comfortable; black with lace trimmings. It seemed to be the right choice. His hand moved in a trail from her neck across her stomach. His fingers caressed the glittering rhinestones of the Batman-logo at the front of the panties.

"If I'd known how fucking hot you'd look in these, I wouldn't have bought them," he mumbled, his fingers moving lower and lower. He had to be able feel how wet she was underneath; the cotton clung to her.

He pushed the drenched fabric between her legs aside and Amy held her breath. He moved his fingers over the newly exfoliated skin there. He halted briefly, and then continued to caress her skin softly. He looked at her, a smug look on his face.

"My, my, what's this?" he muttered, his voice taking on a seductive lilt. "Is this for me?"

"Y-yes," Amy mumbled, suddenly embarrassed for all the lengths she had gone to for tonight.

Sheldon kissed her mouth softly. "I would have eaten you out regardless, but this is _very _much appreciated," he whispered into her mouth. Amy gasped softly.

Amy moaned pathetically when his fingers changed position. His barely there touch against her clit caused her to arch her back and cling to him in a manner of seconds.

"Fuckk…" Sheldon groaned appreciatively, "you're so, so hot." He pushed multiple fingers inside her carefully. Amy exhaled loudly, startled by how full she felt.

Sheldon's fingers moved deftly over her, inside her, against her. Once she had gotten used to the fullness, she was able to move her hips in sync with his fingers. His thumb was rubbing her clit simultaneously.

The tingles in her abdomen were growing exponentially already. Her breathing laboured and her body grew taut with tension.

"_Sheldon_," she exhaled softly. She was almost coming, which was way too soon. He had barely touched her. He didn't seem to mind, on the contrary, he only increased the pressure while he murmured in her ear.

"Coming for me already, aren't you?"

Amy couldn't hold off her orgasm any longer; she cried out as she came. Her body seized and the tingles exploded inside her. The feeling of euphoria washed over her as she shook with the electric pulses moving through her veins. She exhaled weakly as she came down from her high slowly.

Her hands released the tight grip she had on his biceps, and her arms fell limply at her sides. She couldn't believe she had orgasmed this fast, although; she _had_ been tense the entire evening and this was just an obvious result of that.

Sheldon's fingers were still inside her, and she could feel her body clench around them. Slowly, his fingers moved out of her and she squirmed when she felt him stroke her with his entire hand – she was still too sensitive. He moved away from her clit and with a flick of his wrist, his finger were back. She was filled much more than before.

"Ah," she exclaimed, her eyes shot open and she looked into the dark blue eyes of the man above her.

"Sshhh," he shushed. He stared at her as he moved his fingers inside her slowly. Amy panted, her brow furrowing in pleasure combined with a twinge of discomfort. She felt incredibly full now, and her body resisted the intrusion.

"Relax," his voice was impossibly low as he spoke to her, his fingers stretching her. "If you can't handle three fingers, you won't be able to handle it."

With _it_ he had to mean his penis. She had had _that_ in her mouth multiple times now, and her jaw had felt sore afterwards each time. Maybe this was why she was nervous as well. What if her body decided to betray her? Make it impossible to actually do it? She had read about this, it was genuine medical condition: vaginismus. _What if she had this? _

She whimpered in pain when she clenched her muscles involuntarily.

Suddenly Sheldon's mouth was on hers again, coaxing her lips open. His tongue brushed against hers and Amy responded automatically. He was incredible at kissing. She lost herself in the feel of his tongue licking her lips, moving against her tongue in between their opened mouths.

It was only when she felt Sheldon touch her clit again that she realised she was slowly moving her hips to meet his thrusting fingers, the pain and discomfort gone completely. A moan escaped her throat.

Sheldon pulled back from her breathing deeply. "Better?" he asked. Amy nodded swiftly. _Yes_.

He shifted above her, kissing her neck and cleavage slowly. He extracted his hand from her. Sheldon sat back up and pulled off her panties with both hands now.

Amy felt hot all over. He was looking at her the same way she had eyed the chocolate mousse tonight; he _wanted _her.

His hands were on her legs, softly caressing her calves and thighs. "Take off your bra," he mumbled. Amy arched her back and unclasped the closure behind her with shaking hands. He was still fully clothed from the waist down and she was almost practically naked now. It didn't really seem fair. She shielded her breasts for a fleeting second and then lowered her hands, baring herself for him.

"I can't believe I finally have you naked in front of me," Sheldon spoke barely audible, he pushed her legs open and moved forward on his knees. He bent forward and pressed kisses to her naked breasts, his tongue licking one of her nipples while one of his hands simulated the movement on the other.

Amy's earlier arousal came crashing back down on her.

She whimpered and squirmed under his ministrations. After her earlier bout of nerves, she was more than ready now. He had managed to take away any insecurities she had about this. Now there was just the anticipation for what was next. How much longer would he spend on this foreplay? She didn't think she could be any wetter than she already was.

_Or maybe she could_, she mused as Sheldon's kisses moved lower and lower down her body.

His lips kissed the bare skin between her legs. She was incredibly sensitive down there now, and his mouth on her felt even more stimulating than the last time he had done this. But that was weeks ago, and she tensed in anticipation as he moved further down.

"So soft," he mumbled between kisses.

Amy suddenly realised she had barely touched him, and he was about to make her come twice in a row. That didn't seem fair at all. She was aroused enough now, shouldn't they just get it over with, the actual intercourse?

"Sheldon," she whispered, his hands were holding her thighs open already. She sat up a little, resting on her elbows.

"Hmm?" he mumbled, halting slightly just above her labia.

"You - you don't have to… _you know_.. I-I'm ready now," she said.

Sheldon looked up from between her legs, blinking owlishly up at her. "Don't you want me to?" he asked.

"Wha- - well, yeah, but-" Amy stammered. _Why was she making it awkward now? _

"Then lie back and let me do this," Sheldon said, speaking to her like he would in class, "I don't want to hurt you later, so it's best if you're soaked and ready for me. And I want you to come at least twice, and who's to know whether you'll come from penetration alone?"

Well, if he was going to use a set of logical arguments on why he wanted to do that, who was she to stop him?

And if his arguments hadn't convinced her, hearing him say he wanted her _soaked and ready for him_ was enough for her to stop talking. She exhaled slowly. Sheldon gave her a look, as if to say '_well, lie down then'_. Amy complied willingly.

Her whimpers echoed around the room when his lips touched her where she was practically aching for him. How she had managed to live for 23 years without knowing what it's like to experience this; she would never know.

She moaned unabashedly as Sheldon worked his magic on her. He seemed to be drinking from her by the sounds he made, or maybe she was just embarrassingly wet by now. Sheldon wasn't deterred; he proceeded to ravish her.

His tongue lapped at her. Amy groaned, her body letting go of all her earlier insecurities and tension. Although the tension was building rapidly again, especially when his lips closed around her clit and he proceeded to suckle on her softly.

"Ahhh," she moaned.

His fingers were thrusting into her again, and instead of resisting it, her body seemed to crave the fullness that came with it. Sheldon noticed it – of course he did, he had gotten so familiar with her body by now, he knew exactly what turned her on and what caused her to squirm under him.

He added another finger, and the stretch she felt before was hardly there now.

Sheldon groaned against her, his tongue licking her clit in broad strokes. "Good girl," he muttered against her, and Amy's stomach constricted deliciously. She started to move her hips in tandem with the rhythm of his hand, and all too soon she found herself on the precipice of another orgasm.

With one deft flick of his tongue she came crashing down. Her thighs closed around his head, holding him against her, her hands had grasped the sheets of her bed in a tight grip. The pleasured bliss moved through her entire body, starting from the place where Sheldon's mouth was latched onto her to her torso and limbs, ending in a tingling sensation throughout her entire body.

Amy was still catching her breath, with her eyes closed and her limbs too heavy to move. She heard some sounds, a rustling of sorts and the unmistakable sound of a zipper lowering.

She blinked her eyes open and looked up at Sheldon as he undressed before her. There was a fire in his eyes that seemed to burn within her as well.

"Do you want me, Amy?"

Amy swallowed thickly. She had expected to feel sated after coming twice, but she was yearning even more for him now.

"Yes."

Sheldon chucked off his briefs, and bent down to grab his wallet from his pants pocket. He pulled out a condom and proceeded to put it on. Amy's stomach churned with anticipation. Sheldon's fingers seemed to shake a little.

She still had hardly touched him. Sheldon climbed onto the bed, and Amy pulled him on top of her. She brought his head down to kiss him deeply, tasting herself on his lips and tongue, but it only aroused her further.

Sheldon kissed her back enthusiastically. He grunted in her mouth when she moved her legs up around his hips, pulling him closer to her. Amy mewled when she felt him press against her. The earlier tingles reappeared. Sheldon extracted himself from her mouth breathing harshly. His eyes searched hers.

"Sheldon," Amy mumbled, "I'm more than ready now, I think."

He kissed her softly, and pulled away breathing deeply, as if he was trying to calm himself down. "I've never done this before," he whispered against her lips.

"What?" Amy uttered, confused.

Sheldon's mouth brushed against her lips again.

"I've had sex, obviously. But doing this with a woman I have feelings for, that is new."

"Oh," Amy exhaled shakily. It had never occurred to her that he might be nervous tonight as well. She kissed _him_ this time, and tried to put all her feelings in the kiss – the things she was afraid to say out loud now, but hoped she would be able to say to him soon.

He answered her unspoken confessions with a passion she had not expected. Amy's hands roamed over his shoulders, his arms, his back. He shifted on top of her, his erection slipping through the wetness there easily and she could feel him press against her.

Sheldon ceased kissing her, and one of his hands moved up to cup her face. The other rested on her hip. Their eyes met.

He held her gaze as he pressed his hips forward slowly, pushing into her almost carefully.

Amy's mouth fell further open slightly, and she breathed shallowly as he filled her up inch by inch. Her eyes fluttered shut.

"Look at me," Sheldon whispered.

Amy opened her eyes with great difficulty; the fire she saw burning in his nearly made her close them again – it was overwhelming. She had never felt so full in her life. Her whole body trembled with it; the stretch, the feel of him inside her; throbbing and hot and pulsing.

It was a delicious sort of fullness, that overpowered her entire being.

But it was more than that. If only she could find the words to express herself.

"Sheldon," she breathed, her hands grasping his neck and his face.

He breathed out shakily. "I know," he mumbled. "I feel it too."

Amy's heart constricted in her chest. It was too much. Her eyes watered and she blinked rapidly.

"Shit," Sheldon hissed when he noticed her tears, and began pulling back from her. "I thought I prepared you enough.."

"No," Amy muttered quickly. "You did. I'm not in pain, it's just - -"

She didn't know what to say. So, she just acted. She pulled his face towards hers and gave him the most intense kiss she had in her. Sheldon groaned softly and sank back down into her. Amy inhaled sharply at the feeling of being penetrated again. The stretch felt delicious now.

Sheldon began to move agonizingly slowly, like he was afraid he would hurt her if he moved at a faster pace. But Amy felt no pain, just the amazing friction of being filled by him; _with him,_ her nerve receptors were on end with this incredible stimulation of her body, but the feelings coursing through her chest; the warmth from this _closeness_ was almost even more intense.

Sheldon was breathing shallowly above her. Amy looked up at him. He had to be holding back; she'd seen sex scenes in movies and porn, it was never like this. So slow, so sensual.

The grip he had on her hip shifted, and Amy felt him push up her leg by her thigh. With his next thrust, he entered her at a different angle and he pushed into her even deeper than before. Tiny stars burst behind her eyelids.

"OH!" Amy gasped for breath.

"Yes…" Sheldon breathed out. His head fell down into her neck, and he kissed her there sloppily. "Jesus Christ, Amy… you feel amazing."

Amy mewled pathetically; he was increasing his thrusts now, and the friction between them was accumulating. His lower body rubbed against her in a tantalizing manner.

His groans and her moans resounded around them. Amy moved her hips hesitantly, trying to move with him instead of just lying there. The change was instant; the tingles returned full-force when Sheldon kept hitting a certain spot inside her like this. She rubbed herself against his lower body shamelessly, and managed to stimulate her clit at the same time.

She was so lost in the sensations, she barely registered that she was moaning high-pitched sounds with every deep thrust of Sheldon's hips. One of his hands grasped her breast suddenly, and he twisted her nipple roughly.

"Ahh," Amy moaned, rubbing her lower body against him desperately now. "_Sheldon_…"

"Yesss," he hissed, "_Yes…_ Come for me."

He slammed into her hard now, and Amy soared high. She made some sort of wailing sound, and she felt herself clamp onto him. Her walls contracted around him, and it was the sounds Sheldon made – low, guttural – that pushed her over the edge.

The pulsations were short-lived and not as intense as the last two orgasms. It was only when she had caught her breath that she defined the feeling inside her: disappointment. Somehow, she had always hoped or even expected that orgasms during intercourse would be phenomenal.

"I can't have you coming on my dick like that every time," Sheldon grumbled, "I won't be able to last more than ten minutes."

Amy tensed her pelvic muscles around him – he seemed hard still. But that seemed unlikely… Surely he had come after the way she had just squeezed him during orgasm. Right?

Sheldon kissed her softly; and the hand on her breast caressed her softly. Amy sighed contently. Despite the meagre orgasm – she should be glad she came at all – the sex had been more than nice.

Or maybe they had been making love more than they had had sex, she mused.

She kissed him back almost timidly.

Sheldon moaned in her mouth, and thrusted against her shallowly. Amy wondered how he was even able to: she had assumed he'd be too sensitive – or flaccid at least.

"Do you need another minute?" Sheldon mumbled, his thrusts seemed to increasing in force. She didn't understand. It was almost as if he was starting again.

"What? I thought we were done?" she asked, her lower parts tingled with every press of his hips against her.

Sheldon chuckled above her. He lightly kissed her nose. Amy groaned lowly when she felt him pull out of her. Her eyes shifted down to his member between his legs. He was still hard.

"Oh," she exhaled. She had assumed he would have come the second she did – why, she wasn't really sure.

"I'm not done with you yet, Miss Fowler," Sheldon drawled, and she could suddenly hear his Texan accent. It was surprisingly arousing. He had taken hold of her legs and was turning her around so she rested on her stomach on the bed.

The hairs on his chest felt coarse against her back, and he felt incredibly warm as he lay down. He covered her entire body like this. Amy moaned quietly when he pressed kisses to her neck. He seemed to be settling in between her legs; _something_ was pressing against her wet centre at least.

"You just relax, I'll do all the work," he murmured.

And with that, he pushed back inside her from behind.

* * *

Amy lost track of time around the third change of position. She hadn't expected this kind of stamina at all. When she commented on it – she had been breathing deeply into the pillow beneath her as Sheldon practically pounded into her from behind – he had said something along the lines of _'I'm not 18 anymore, Amy, I can keep this up for longer than fifteen minutes'._

She had another tiny orgasm from the way his testicles slapped against her clit in that position. Sheldon grunted loudly, but seemed to power through still. Amy was slowly becoming sated from the duration of this; nowhere in her mind had she ever thought they'd be doing it all night. If she was being honest, she was getting a little sore now.

Sheldon pulled out of her again, and lifted her from the bed by her arms. He hugged her to him, and nuzzled the side of her neck. "You want to try riding me?" he whispered.

Amy's eyes shot open. She was instantly nervous. She swallowed thickly.

"Sure."

Sheldon exhaled in relief and dropped himself on the bed next to her. His chest was heaving and his brow was glistening with sweat.

"Maybe I should start doing _actual_ sports, instead of just Wii Sports with the guys," he joked, "you're wearing me out, woman."

Amy chuckled softly. Sheldon's eyes roamed over her. Could he see how nervous she was?

"Come here," he said, and held out his hand. Amy took it and let him help her crawl on top of him.

Sheldon pulled her closer to him to kiss her. Amy complied. She was straddling him now, her legs on either side of him. Sheldon's kisses had the strange effect of making her feel more at ease and more aroused at the same time. His hands had migrated to her hips, and he was tugging her closer to him.

Amy pulled back from his kisses. He was situated at her centre now, all she had to do was just lower herself down on him. It couldn't be that difficult, could it?

She exhaled shakily and shifted her hips slightly, taking him in. Sheldon was staring up at her. Amy dropped her hips down further, and gasped at the intrusion from this angle. Once he was fully sheathed inside her, she awkwardly began to move.

She was more grinding down on him than actually bouncing like she figured she should be – but Sheldon seemed to enjoy it. He was groaning deeper and deeper with each move she made. Amy couldn't really describe how it felt, but beside the now familiar stretching and fullness, there was a feeling of power coursing through her now as well.

She liked it.

Her confidence grew, and she moved her legs forward so she had more leverage to actually 'ride him' like he had asked her. She was bouncing up and down on him now, her breasts moved with each move downwards her body made and she could see Sheldon stare at them.

His hands grasped onto her hips suddenly and he pulled her down roughly. Amy mewled.

He moved her in his arms as he sat up; Amy shifted in his lap. It made it more difficult to move like this, but the closeness that came with it was more than welcome. She ground down on him from her position above him, her arms around his shoulders. Sheldon kept looking at her like he couldn't believe his eyes.

Despite all the pleasurable sounds he made, Amy couldn't help but ask:

"Am I doing it right?"

Sheldon groaned. He crushed her against him, his hands on her ass now, pulling on her and pushing up at the same time.

"Good Lord, Amy… You're incredible," he whispered. "_Fuck_…. Doing this with you? It's better than I ever imagined."

Amy's stomach did that delicious swoop again, and she felt the warmth his words caused all through her body.

"Do you think you can come again?" Sheldon breathed in her ear. He was doing all the work again, pulling her down on him as he pushed up inside her.

Amy really couldn't anymore. She was surprised her legs even managed to handle this. Besides, he may have been proud of his stamina, but she kind of wanted him to come too. She could admit it to herself now; the times she had brought him to orgasm, had been strangely thrilling.

She hummed a sort of negative moan. "I want you to come," she murmured.

Sheldon groaned her name in her neck and his pushes became frantic. "Say that again."

"Oh!" Amy moaned from the sudden intensity.

"Amy…" he sounded desperate. His pants became irregular, his thrusts uncontrolled and kind of rough.

"Please, Sheldon," she whispered quietly, holding onto his shoulders. "I want you to come."

He needed no more stimulation to finish. Amy marvelled at the feeling of him throbbing inside her as he filled the condom with his release. She experimentally clenched her muscles around him, and his groans became obnoxiously loud. He held onto her hips so hard, she assumed there would be bruises there the next day.

Amy was panting herself, feeling exhausted from the physical exercise, but the emotions as well. They sat there, wrapped around each other. She held his head against her, stroking his hair softly. Sheldon kept murmuring her name in her neck.

Overwhelming took on a new meaning, when she realised how right it felt to be held like this. Held by him.

* * *

Amy's shower was too small to shower together, and she was kind of glad. She needed some time to think. They had moved around each other awkwardly in the tiny bathroom, when Sheldon got into the shower she just vacated. His eyes shone with something that made her entire body heat up.

She gave him a small smile and walked back to her bed. Her legs felt incredible heavy. Sore from the strain of keeping them spread open, she figured. Her mind wandered off as she sat down on her bed. She had just had sex with Sheldon – her former professor. It had been amazing, exhausting, titillating, hot and emotional all at once.

Her heart felt warm beneath her chest when she recalled how it had felt the moment he entered her for the first time. She couldn't describe the feeling; the emotions had been running high, and she felt something inside her from the way he looked at her then. Like she was special. To him.

Amy sighed. She was just coming to terms with the fact that she was actually in love with him. Should she say it? He had told her; but it had been more of an accident than a planned confession. It felt too soon.

They had only gone on one date now. They had barely scratched the surface of _actually _knowing one another; maybe they should start with that.

She had just taken the sheets of her bed, when she felt his arms around her from behind.

"You could have left those, you know," he mumbled. "I was kind of looking forward to doing that again tomorrow."

Amy chuckled. Of course. She was still learning how this whole sex-thing worked it seemed.

"I'll change them again tomorrow then," she said, turning in his arms. Sheldon was unashamed by his nakedness, and Amy blushed when she looked at him.

"You're so adorable," he said. "Even after everything we just did, you're still blushing at the sight of my dick."

Amy swatted at his arm. "Shut up," she mumbled, smiling.

Sheldon pulled on a pair of oversized sweat pants that Amy found in the back of her closet, and they moved to her couch to drink that cup of tea they had planned to drink hours before.

They settled in on the couch, and Amy kept looking at him while she took careful sips from her cup of tea. The silence between them felt comfortable. As if they had done this lots of times before; vigorous love making followed by tea on the couch. Amy smiled at him.

Sheldon was eyeing the music box on the coffee table in front of them. Amy followed his gaze.

"I never thanked you for that," she murmured – the shame from her initial reaction to his love declaration returning.

Sheldon gave her a half-smile. "It's alright," he mumbled.

Amy shook her head slightly, and bent over to put her mug on the coffee table. She sat up and leaned over to Sheldon, grasped his face and pulled him in for a kiss.

"Thank you," she whispered, kissing him again. "It was a really lovely gift."

She sat back, and ducked her head a little when she felt too worked up from the way he looked at her.

"So," Sheldon said after a few minutes of silence. He coughed awkwardly before he continued. "When we're having dinner at your parents'… will you be introducing me as your friend again, or something else?"

Amy raised her eyebrows at him.

"What would you want me to introduce you as?" she replied, acting as if her heartrate didn't just quicken immediately.

Sheldon laughed softly. "You know what I mean, Amy."

"Do I?" she asked, her blush warmed her entire face. Sheldon narrowed his eyes at her playfully.

"Fine. I'll ask you then," he conceded. Sheldon put his cup of tea on the coffee table in front of him.

There was a smile in his eyes. He pulled her close to him and kissed her lips softly. Amy whimpered into his kiss.

"Amy Farrah Fowler, will you be my girlfriend?"

Amy couldn't keep the grin of her face.

"Yes."

_END_

_An epilogue will follow_

**A/N This is it. What started out as a random thought after seeing an episode, turned into an epic of over 100K words, excluding the companion piece from Sheldon's point of view (if you haven't already read it, please do). **

**I had never thought I'd get such a huge following for this or get so many lovely reviews. I can't thank you enough. I hope I didn't disappoint with this final instalment. **

**Thank you again for your patience and appreciation. I'm speechless really. **


	36. Epilogue

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Epilogue**

**_Seven months later_**

Amy twiddled her thumbs as she waited to be called in. She tugged on her skirt.

"Ah, Miss Fowler," Ms Davis greeted her. "Please come on in."

Amy got up and walked into the office. Ms Davis gave her a smile.

"It's good to see you here again, Miss Fowler," she said.

"It's uh… _Doctor _now, actually," Amy corrected her. She was still getting used to that title herself.

"Oh, that's right! Congratulations," Ms Davis said, sounding sincere. "Now, we're here to talk over some of the logistics for your new position here at Caltech. We're very happy to have you to continue the addiction study. Now, I know I'm not allowed to say this; but we may have been able to secure funding to get the monkeys addicted on heavier substances than just nicotine."

Amy grinned. She was looking forward to that already.

Together they went over her contract. It was still a temporary position – she had just finished her doctorate after all – but the money was nice. If they gave this kind of salary to a researcher, she wondered what kind of money she would make in a different position – such as teaching.

After all the formalities were settled, Ms Davis looked over Amy's resume once more.

"This is really impressive, especially for your age," she said. "Sometimes I get so used to all the geniuses we have around here, that I forget to express my admiration for your hard work."

Amy gave her a small smile. She wasn't _that_ much of a genius.

"Speaking of geniuses, you had Doctor Cooper's class in the first semester here didn't you?"

"Uh, yes I did," Amy said, hoping she didn't blush too hard at the mention of his name.

"How was he?"

Amy blinked. _Did she know? _"Excuse me?" she asked, looking at Ms Davis with wide eyes.

"As a teacher? I remember telling you he was fairly new to the field," Ms Davis elaborated. "We do evaluations with the students after the semester is over, but I don't recall reading yours."

That's because she hadn't handed it in. The aforementioned teacher had been busy teaching her all kinds of things, unrelated to physics.

"I must have forgotten to hand it in... But Doctor Cooper knows how much I enjoyed his classes," Amy said, smiling at her.

"Did he teach you a lot?" Ms Davis asked.

_Oh, yes he did. _

* * *

She left Ms Davis' office with a signed contract in her bag. It felt good, knowing she would be making money and providing for herself now, instead of living off grants or her parents.

Caltech felt different in summer, without the students present. Or maybe it was just weird being back there as an employee instead of a student. She was still getting used to the fact that she was _Doctor _Fowler now.

She thought back to the ceremony at Harvard, where she had defended her dissertation before the thesis committee. The nerves had almost made it impossible for her to enjoy the actual moment; the elaborate ornaments in the hall, the portraits of notable alumni adorning the walls, the proud faces of her parents.

She had walked back to them on unstable legs. Her father had beamed at her, and even her mother had smiled. But it had been Sheldon on her father's left who looked at her with a combination of pride and possessiveness that had made her blood run hot.

"Congratulations, Doctor Fowler," he had said, smirking at her. She still felt the flutters in her stomach when she thought back to the look in his eyes then.

* * *

She checked the time; Sheldon would still be in his office. They hadn't seen each other in the two weeks after the ceremony. Even after receiving her doctorate, Amy had been awfully busy with wrapping up a lot of loose ends at Harvard, not to mention rounding up all her stuff and boxing everything for shipping. While they still talked on the phone and had R-rated video chats from time to time, she had really missed Sheldon. She wondered if the nerves she felt before seeing him would ever disappear.

Amy popped into the bathroom quickly. Smirking wickedly, she took off her panties and put them in the pocket of her jacket.

She could hear them argue all the way down the hall of the southeast corridor already. The door to his office was open, and Amy couldn't help by grin when she heard them arguing. It was strangely familiar.

"What do you mean it couldn't have happened?" Leonard repeated.

"Oh come on Leonard, the time travel in Avengers: Endgame is even less believable than the one in Hot-Tub Time Machine," Howard piped up.

Amy knocked on the open door. "Working hard again, I see?" she smiled.

Howard, Rajesh and Leonard all looked up in surprise when they saw her. Within seconds she was hugged by each of them, and bombarded with questions.

"I didn't know you'd be coming today!" Leonard exclaimed. "Sheldon, why didn't you tell me? I would have picked her up at the airport."

"Oh, that's alright. Sheldon sent an Uber," Amy smiled. She looked up at him – he was still standing by his desk, looking at her with piercing eyes. "Amir says 'hi'. Also, his wife is expecting again."

Sheldon smiled slightly. "That's nice," he said.

_Wasn't he coming over to greet her? _They had spent nights talking to each other on the phone, and Amy had expected him to swoop her up in his arms the second they laid eyes on each other.

She extracted herself from the others and walked up to Sheldon. His eyes had that sparkle in them that made her weak in the knees.

"Hi," she said as she reached him.

"Hello," he replied.

She took another step to him and reached for his face with her right hand. Their lips met in a chaste kiss. Electric shocks coursed through her nonetheless. Amy reached in her jacket pocket and pulled out the wadded-up panties. She pulled Sheldon closer, so it wouldn't be visible to the others what she was doing. She gripped the front pocket of his slacks and deposited the panties in there.

She pulled back from his face and gave him an innocent smile.

"I signed my contract just now," she said, more to the others than to him.

"Oh! We should go out to celebrate!" Rajesh called out.

Amy turned around, intending to decline politely, when Sheldon spoke up.

"We can go out later tonight," he said – his voice breaking no argument. Amy turned to him, and saw that his hand was in his front pocket, undoubtedly grasping her panties in a firm grip. She ducked her head to hide her grin.

"Would you gentlemen excuse us please?" Sheldon continued.

Wolowitz looked at them suspiciously. Leonard just grinned. "Come on," he said, pulling the guys with him. "We'll get out of your hair."

They waved and said their goodbyes. Sheldon walked around Amy to his office door and closed the door. The lock clicked.

"Now, Miss Fowler," he said, slowly turning around. "Would you care to explain what you just put in my pocket?"

Amy grinned. "I don't know what you're talking about, _professor,_" she said innocently. "And it's _Doctor _Fowler now."

"Not in here it isn't," Sheldon rebutted. He raised an eyebrow at her. The heated look he gave her made her weak in the knees immediately.

She giggled.

"Did you know I once had a dream where you were disciplining me in your office?" she asked in the same innocent tone, but she bit her lip and looked at him with what she hoped was a seductive look.

"Is that right?" Sheldon asked, and he stalked towards her slowly.

Amy nodded. He was approaching her like a lion would its prey. Her already aroused state increased rapidly.

"Perhaps I should have," Sheldon muttered, and his hand reached out to her. His knuckles grazed over her jaw. "You were asking for a spanking more than once, Miss Fowler."

Amy gasped. She wasn't even acting right now.

"I was not!" she argued.

Sheldon raised both his eyebrows. "I think it would be wise if you let your teacher do the talking now, Miss Fowler," Sheldon spoke lowly.

Amy gulped. What were they doing? Was this some sort of role-play? It was extremely exciting.

"I seem to recall you having a big mouth to me quite often," he continued softly, his eyes moved over her face. "You were always trying to provoke me, and you know it. From your terrible interpretation of Newton's laws of motion to that schoolgirl skirt… I should have bent you over my desk to smack some sense into you."

Amy was panting softly. She was extremely aroused now. And she wasn't even wearing any panties now to catch all the wetness that was accumulating between her legs.

"H-how would you have done that?" she asked breathlessly. "Professor?" she added.

Sheldon smirked at her. "We'll first have to determine what kind of punishment you deserve, Miss Fowler," he said. "What do you think the severity of your behaviour is?"

"Uhm," Amy gaped. She really had no idea to respond to this.

"Let's recap, shall we?" Sheldon asked. His hand moved from her jaw to her neck, caressing her softly. He was taking her pulse in her neck. Amy trembled.

"You managed to obtain my private telephone number and called me to proposition me outside of school hours," he started. "You provoked me in my office with your big mouth, and when I offered to tutor you privately regardless, you _lied to me_ about studying the material…"

He was referring back to months ago. That eidetic memory of his was recounting all the events leading up to their first kiss later that same evening. He had threatened to _discipline _her that very afternoon. And that night, he had confessed to wanted to shut her up in a very unprofessional manner.

It all came rushing back to her. She gulped. Her aroused and nervous state was similar to the one she was in that very evening.

Maybe it wasn't just _her _fantasy they were acting out here, but his as well?

The thought that he wanted this too, made it even more thrilling.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Miss Fowler?" he hissed, his pupils were blown wide.

Amy swallowed thickly. "I-I'm sorry," she whispered. "It won't happen again. _Sir._"

Sheldon groaned so softly she barely registered it. "And I'm supposed to take your word for it?"

Amy blushed. What was she supposed to do? She reached out to the front of his pants, intending to undo them. She brushed her fingers fleetingly over the bulge there. It twitched under her fingers.

"How can I make it up to you, Professor?" she whispered. She held his gaze and licked her lips. He couldn't handle that, she knew that now.

Sheldon's pupils dilated. He gripped her wrist and moved her hand away from his crotch.

"Turn around," he ordered darkly. "Hands on the desk."

Amy stared at him for a moment. He held her gaze. Amy exhaled slowly. She turned around, her heart was racing. She bent forward, grasping the edge of the desk with her hands.

"Let me show you how I should be disciplining bad students such as yourself, Miss Fowler," Sheldon said quietly.

He moved into her, and Amy felt him pull up her skirt slowly. It was bunched around her waist now, and the air felt cold against her wet centre.

"Do you go around all your professors without underwear, Miss Fowler?" Sheldon asked, and his hand caressed her over her ass. It had been weeks since he touched her. It felt incredible.

"No, Sir," she whispered.

"I should hope not," Sheldon muttered. "You've already misbehaved so much as it is…"

Amy was unprepared for the force with which his hand struck down on her naked bottom. She gasped loudly. He struck her again, on the other cheek this time.

And again. And again. And again. And again.

Amy was panting. Her ass burned with heat. She was embarrassed to realise how insanely wet she got from this. Her knuckles were white from the intense grip she had on his desk.

"Please," she mumbled. She couldn't take anymore.

"Please what, Miss Fowler?"

"No more," she panted. "I-I-I think I've learned my lesson…"

Both of his hands were palming her ass now. He had to be able to feel the scorching heat coming of her.

"I'll be the judge of that," Sheldon muttered.

One of his hands moved from her ass to between her legs. Amy moaned when he touched her there. She was practically dripping with want.

"Jesus, Amy," Sheldon breathed out, breaking character. She groaned when she felt his fingers inside her. He pumped them slowly, and she squeezed her muscles around him deliberately.

Sheldon growled behind her, and he removed his hand. She heard his zipper lowering, and in no time felt him brush up against her. She had longed for this. They hadn't been able to have sex after the dissertation ceremony; her parents had taken them out to dinner and after that the three of them had taken the night flight back to California. She had been frustrated for days afterwards. Still was, if she was honest.

She tried to recall how many weeks it had been since they had done it, but wasn't able to think clearly this close to it actually happening again.

"So wet for your professor, Miss Fowler," Sheldon muttered, back into character now. "Don't tell me you _liked_ me spanking you?"

"N-no, Sir," Amy played along. She pushed her hips back, hoping he would take the hint and take her already. She was slowly going insane.

His hand struck down on her ass again. Hard. "What did I tell you about lying to me?" Sheldon hissed.

"Please, Sir…" Amy whispered.

"_Fuck_," Sheldon groaned. "I love hearing you beg for me."

He pushed into her. Amy yelped. He halted when he was buried to the hilt. Amy breathed out shallowly. She hadn't felt this full for a long time. Her whole body trembled.

"Amy," Sheldon panted. "You okay?"

She swallowed thickly. "Yes," she exhaled. She clenched her muscles around him. Hearing him groan in response caused a thrill to go through her.

"I can't hold back," Sheldon warned her. "I've missed you so. I promise I'll make it up to you tonight."

She moaned softly. She liked Sheldon's preferred method of making it up to her. She really wouldn't mind if he took her roughly now, especially if that meant he'd have his head between her legs later that night.

But he took his time, surprisingly. He pulled back slowly, and pushed into her at a tantalizing pace. Amy moaned quietly with each push inside her.

A sudden hand on her shoulders made her bend over further, and the angle with which he penetrated her changed.

"OH!" Amy gasped. He was hitting a spot inside her that caused her to see stars within seconds.

"Oh, yesss," Sheldon groaned. He was increasing his thrusts, pushing harder and hitting that spot over and over again. Amy was moaning uncontrollably.

"Sh-Sheldon…" she breathed. She was close to coming now.

The feel of him inside her, the sounds coming from the joining of their bodies, the grunts Sheldon made with each push into her; it was all too much. It had been too long since she had done it and she had been craving it. Craving him.

Amy arched her back further and looked over her shoulder. Sheldon was red in the face from exertion, and he was staring at her with fire in his eyes. Amy's stomach constricted. _Nope_, she was never getting used to the way he looked at her.

"Did you miss me?" he panted, his grip on her ass increasing in time with his thrusts.

"Yes," Amy breathed. She could feel her orgasm building rapidly. "So much… _God_, Sheldon…"

He thrusted even harder now, encouraged by her. Amy shrieked as her orgasm overtook her. She felt her muscles contract around him. Her body shook with spasms, and the feeling of euphoria washed over her. Her arms gave out, and she dropped down onto the desk. If Sheldon hadn't had such a firm grip on her hips, her legs would have given out as well.

Sheldon groaned her name behind her, and she could feel him throb inside her as he came as well. "Ahh," Sheldon exclaimed. "Jesus Christ, Amy… _Fuck, _I missed you."

Amy breathed out slowly. Her release had nearly knocked her out. Her body still tingled with aftershocks. The both of them spent a few minutes catching their breaths. Sheldon groaned again as he pulled out of her carefully.

"Stay there," he mumbled. "Let me get some tissues, I can't have you dripping semen all over my office floor now."

Amy exhaled. She couldn't move now anyway. The gravity of what they had just done hit her like a ton of bricks. They had had sex in Sheldon's office. At least the door was locked, and she had been taking contraceptive pills for a few months now. But still.

She hadn't even been employed for _a day_ and she was already having sex at work.

Sheldon handed her a bunch of tissues and Amy awkwardly cleaned up. He had sat down in his desk chair, breathing deeply still. Amy looked at him, he was staring at her again. She blushed.

"You should really learn to control yourself, Amy. We can't have this happening every time you're in here," Sheldon berated her.

Amy gaped at him. "Excuse me? You're the one who locked the door and – and _spanked _me!"

Sheldon did that irresistible eyebrow-raise.

"You wanted me to," he said, pulling her panties out of his pocket. "Or why else would you have taken these off before coming here?"

Amy blushed. He got her there. She held out her hand to him, intending to get her underwear back.

"What?" Sheldon asked, he held them in his hands, as if he was inspecting them.

"Can I have my panties back?" Amy asked, despite the cleaning up she just did, she still felt kind of gross and at least with her panties back she would be able to feel somewhat decent.

"These?" Sheldon asked, grinning wickedly. "Oh no, I'm keeping these. I have quite the collection now, you know. They'll pair nicely with the others; from your first two nights at my apartment, and the time you sucked me off in my classroom…"

"What?" Amy stammered.

"I think it would be a good way for you to _really _learn how to behave like a good student, Amy," Sheldon grinned at her. Amy shook her head at him, but she was smiling.

"Fine," she said. "But you do realise that it's quite an empty threat, you know."

Sheldon smirked, he held out one of his hands and made her walk around his desk. He pulled her in his lap.

"An empty threat?" he repeated, kissing her lips softly. "Because you'll have access to all my possessions now anyway?"

Amy felt a kind of warmth in her stomach as he said it. The boxes had been shipped a few days earlier, and the new key tot 2311 Los Robles had been on her keychain since his visit to Boston.

She leaned into him and they kissed sweetly.

"Exactly," Amy smiled.

"I didn't know I'd be able to miss you so much, but the last few weeks have been horrible," Sheldon said softly. He pulled her towards him and pressed a searing kiss to her lips.

Amy's heart soared. "I missed you too," Amy said. "But you won't have to miss me anymore now."

"That's right," Sheldon said, grinning at her. "It's a good thing we both have a week off. I don't see any reason for us to leave our bed the upcoming days."

_Our bed_. Amy smiled. She could get used to that.

END

**A word of thanks to my fellow fangirls, whose enthusiasm and love for my writing (and the mysteries involving Amy's panties) have helped me bring this story to an end. Thank you Liv, Maria, Regi, Fran, Liz – and you too Bucky, I do hope you kept reading. **

**And thank _you_ for taking the time to read, for sticking with me to the end and for your reviews as well. I cannot express how happy all your views, responses and favorites make me. **


	37. Sanitations

**Surprise! This little ficlet is the result of wine and a dirty prompt. Expect no plot, just smut. **

* * *

**The Work-Life Balance Disruption**

**Epilogue 2.0**

**Sanitations**

Amy climbed into the tub at 2311 North Los Robles. She had been living with Sheldon for a month now and it was still strange, getting used to living with her boyfriend, who was also her former professor.

Although, she wondered if she ever really saw him as her _professor_. Sure, he had taught her some things she didn't know before coming to Caltech, about the Euler-Lagrange equations and Hamiltonian mechanics, but he had taught her more about the carnal pleasures than he had ever taught her about physics.

Amy smiled to herself as she turned the water on. Speaking of carnal pleasures, just last night, she had had another wonderful experience with Sheldon. He was able to make her see stars with his hands like she wasn't able to, and it worried her sometimes.

How would she ever survive without him, if either one of them would be away for a weeks for either conferences or some other kind of trip?

She was just lathering up her arms, when she heard the sound of the shower curtain being pulled back. She turned around and looked on as Sheldon climbed into the tub with her. He threw her a lazy smile.

"Hey," he said softly. "I thought I'd find you here."

There really wasn't anywhere else to go; it was either the bathroom or the living room. Amy smiled back at him. "Good thinking."

It was meant to be a joke, but Sheldon gave her a serious look. "I don't like waking up without you next to me, Amy."

"Oh, sorry," Amy said apologetically. "I'll wake you up next time."

She turned back around to stand under the spray of the water, letting the suds wash off her arms.

"You must have been in a hurry to get cleaned up from what I did to you last night," Sheldon muttered in her ear, appearing to have come up behind her. His hands moved over her lower belly in slow caresses.

"Oh," Amy breathed out. She hadn't started on washing herself _there _yet, but she immediately flashed back to how he had made love to – no, correct that, _fucked _her the night before. She stomach swooped with arousal. She wasn't sure what the wetness between her legs was now though; either her current arousal, or the seed he had shot into her hours before, or a combination of both.

She was resting her head against the shoulder behind her, and didn't really notice Sheldon had taken hold the showerhead of the wall until she realised the water wasn't cascading down her front anymore.

"If you were in such a hurry, let me help you get cleaned up then, hm?"

Amy wasn't really registering what he was saying. It was early morning still, and her brain was still a bit foggy. And truthfully, all she could focus on right now was the feeling of her nipples hardening in the sudden cool air now that the hot water was nowhere near them.

"What?" she mumbled.

_SMACK! _

The sound of his hand connecting to her ass harshly echoed around them. "That's not how you address your teacher, Miss Fowler," Sheldon hissed in her ear.

Amy's blood rushed through her veins. _Oh. _They were playing _this_ game then.

"I-I'm sorry, Sir…. I meant, what do you mean, help me?" she asked, breathlessly.

"You'll see," he said ominously.

His right hand – that had still been on her tummy – moved lower until it moved between her legs. Amy inhaled sharply when his fingers slipped through her folds, her clit barely stimulated. Her gasp turned into a groan when he roughly pushed what Amy could only assume were multiple fingers inside her.

"My, my," he mumbled. "Care to tell your professor what this is, Miss Fowler?"

Amy swallowed thickly. "M-m-my pussy, professor."

"Yes," he chuckled behind her. "Such a wet pussy, though… Are you always this wet, Miss Fowler?"

"N-no, Sir," Amy shook her head. He was slowly pumping his fingers in and out of her, the tips of his fingers brushing over her g-spot just a little every time.

"What caused you to be this wet, Miss Fowler?"

"You, Sir."

"Oh, yeah?"

Amy mewled when he pushed his fingers deeper inside her. "Is it my cum that's still dripping out of your pussy, Miss Fowler?"

Amy felt herself blush. He was talking dirty and it was doing things to her.

"Yes, Sir," she whispered – no, whimpered really.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Sheldon tutted. "We can't really have _that_, now can we? Better get your pussy clean for the start of the day."

It was then that Amy felt the spray of the water against the back of her thigh.

"Spread your legs, Miss Fowler," he muttered behind her. "That's it."

Amy widened her stance and felt Sheldon push against her shoulders, making her bend over.

"Good girl," Sheldon muttered behind her.

Amy yelped when she felt the spray of water between her legs. He had adjusted the nozzle; and the water was now coming out in a concentrated jet, with much more pressure than the usual water pressure the showerhead provided.

"Shhh, now, if it's too much for you, you'd better hold on to that bar there," Sheldon said from behind her. Amy nodded weakly.

He was aiming the showerhead between her legs again, and Amy couldn't help but gasp for air. The jet was directly on her clit, and Sheldon knew it.

"Nnng... professor," she moaned weakly.

Sheldon's other hand was on her ass, squeezing her quickly before he moved his hand lower.

"Yes, Miss Fowler?" he asked – as if they were having a normal conversation, "is something wrong?"

"N-no, Sir," Amy mumbled, her mind slowly turning into mush. The water pressure was insane, and she was almost coming already from the force of the water against her.

"Then be a good girl and let me clean you up," Sheldon ordered.

Amy nodded weakly. And she let him.

His hand swiped over her folds, his fingers pushed inside her and rubbed her g-spot. All the while, the showerhead was firmly pointed at her clit and she was going insane from the stimulation.

"Ahhh, _Doctor Cooper,"_ she keened.

"What is, Miss Fowler?" he mocked. "Such a bad girl… even the simple act of washing your pussy is driving you insane."

Amy was panting now. Why had no one ever told her she could you the detachable showerhead for masturbation? She felt cheated out of a lot masturbation sessions.

"It is," she admitted, her voice small.

"And do bad girls deserve to come, Miss Fowler?" Sheldon mocked her.

Amy shook her head. "No, Sir."

But the shower was still pointed at her clit, and it was too much – especially the thought of misbehaving. Who knew what Sheldon had planned for her if she came right now?

"Ah, ah," she whimpered again. "Sir… I can't take it…"

He groaned behind her, and she soared. High. Her body shook with tremors as her orgasm washed over her, and her legs would have given out had she not been holding onto the bar in front of her.

Stars were still erupting behind her eyelids when the spray of water against her stopped, and the water cascaded down on her back instead. His fingers disappeared from inside her, and she breathed out slowly.

"Ooohh," she moaned deeply when she felt him enter her from behind. She always felt incredibly full when they had sex like this.

"Fuck, yes, Amy," Sheldon groaned behind her.

He pushed into her at a blistering pace, and Amy had to brace herself with her hands on the shower wall in front of her. That bar that was only there to hold the showerhead in place proved very helpful now.

"God, you're so hot for me. Always," Sheldon grumbled as he thrusted into her harder and harder.

Amy mewled and tried to move with him, but it seemed like an impossible task to keep up with him.

"Sheldon…" she moaned.

_SMACK! _

She gasped. "Doctor Cooper," she corrected herself. "Doctor Cooper, please…"

"Please what, Miss Fowler? Do you need me to teach you another lesson?" Sheldon panted.

_Always_, she thought.

"Doctor Cooper," she breathed. "Come inside me… please."

Sheldon could never handle seeing her lick her lips – or hearing beg for him. And it was his undoing once again now. Amy relished in hearing him come undone, and also secretly in feeling him come inside her. She squeezed her pelvic muscles around him, milking him inside her.

Sheldon groaned her namely softly a few more times.

He pulled out of her and pulled her upright. Amy sighed contently as she was enveloped in his arms like this. She could feel his heart racing against her shoulder.

"God, you're so hot. I'll never get tired of you," Sheldon whispered as he pressed a kiss to her neck.

Amy smiled and sighed in bliss. She had a feeling she wouldn't get tired of him either.

Sheldon chuckled deeply.

"We'll have to clean you up again now, though."

END

**A/N: The prompt '_Sheldon uses the spray on Amy in the shower'_ was provided by kpg03. It's plotless and pure porn, and I couldn't resist sharing it with you. **

**Maybe I'll revisit Doctor Cooper and Miss Fowler again in the future. Hope this short, smutty story made your day a little brighter – or in the very least, a little hotter. **


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